June's Director's News

DIRECTOR’S NEWS

Fort Atkinson Preschool and Childcare June 2017

June News We won’t say good-bye we’ll
say….
It’s hard to believe but our school year is coming to an end! It seems like
just yesterday everyone was arriving for first days of preschool and 4K
and soon they will be moving on. Some important dates regarding the
end of school:
June 2nd-All Summer session paperwork is due
June 7th-Last PM 4K
June 7th-4K Family Picnic
June 8th-Last day of AM 4K
June 8th-Last day of child care session
June 8th-Early release school age –Kids United begins at 12:30 pm
June 9th-First day of summer session
June 19th-First day of Fort Atkinson School District Summer School
For those of you who are leaving us, we will miss you! Please stop in
some time and let your teachers know how you are doing.
For families who are staying with us for the summer, classroom changes
will begin June 9th. Your summer packet indicated which classroom your
child will be in this summer, if you have any questions see Ms. Jen.
Please take some time to read the summer packet attached to the forms.
There is a lot of information contained in the paperwork.

In This Issue

 Dinghies for Dad-June 22, 2017
 Summer Session begins-June 9, 2017
 Mrs. Who?
 Sunray and Rainbow Conferences
 Young Star Update
 Important end of school year dates
 Check in computer

Red nose day was a huge success (and lots of fun)!

Check in Computer Thanks to the Dunhams for the homemade balance boards!

All childcare families should now be using
the check in computer each day to sign
their child in/out. While teachers are
tracking children on the clipboards for
safety, the check in computer is our
verification for our licensing department .
For families who are contracted for half
days, this will now become your
verification of five hours or less. If you do
not sign your child out you will be billed for
a full day.

Up until this point we have been correcting
sign in/out errors on a daily basis on the
computer in the office. Going forward if
you fail to sign your child in or out you will
not be able to do so the following day and
will need to come into the office to make
the correction.

Anyone who picks up on a regular basis More June News
should now have either their fingerprint
scanned in or a code created (if your print Invoices will come out on June 9th and will be created using the
isn’t working or you prefer not to do a summer contract that is due by June 2nd. If you have a child
print). We can only register people who attending mini-kindergarten or summer school and are expecting to be
are on your enrollment forms as billed for half days during that time period please remember you must
authorized pick up persons so any pick up, AND SIGN OUT ON THE CHECK IN COMPUTER before 5
changes have to be made in the office. pm. For any days that your child is not signed out, or signed out after
5 pm you will be billed $35. The check in computer is used to
If you need to register your print and have determine times so please be sure you check out there daily. These
not already done so please see Ms. Jen or additional charges apply as staff will have to stay late to accommodate
Ms. Sarah. The code we generate for you any students who do not leave as scheduled.
to do so is only good for seven days, so if
you have yet to use your code you will All students who are being walked to and/or from summer school or
need another. mini-kindergarten must have an alternate transportation
form on file BEFORE we can walk your child. For
If you have family picking up on a rare liability reasons there are no exceptions to this policy.
occasion you must still fill out a pick up Please remember if it is thundering or lightening, the
authorization form and the office can use heat index is over 90 or there are weather warnings
this form to sign out your child ON THAT such as tornado, thunder storm or air quality we will not
DAY. be able to walk and you will have to provide
transportation. You will be notified by email and Facebook so please
The vast majority of families have been be sure your Communication Preference Form is filled out and
doing an amazing job remembering and I returned.
can’t tell you how much we appreciate
your support through this transition.

Sunray and Rainbow teachers are offering conferences next week.
Please see Ms. Karen or Ms. Kashia if you are interested in a parent
teacher conference.

Mrs. Who?

Gus and Maddie do Mom’s hair at the Mom’s Day Spa! Beginning this summer we are going
to attempt to switch students from
Center News calling teachers by Ms. or Mr. and
their first name to using last names.
Staff Updates For existing students this might seem
strange at first but even our three
Ms. Emily will begin as the Kids United Assistant on June 8th. You may see year olds know people have first and
her orienting in the building before that date. Ms. Emily is studying early last names and that both are the
childhood at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh where she is finishing up same people.
her senior year.
Teachers asked to make this switch
Ms. Lisa, our 4K Detective teacher will be moving to the Rainbow Room for for several reasons. First of all we
the summer and will be working with Ms. Kashia in the mornings. have many school district personnel
in and out of the building. The
Bike Helmets school district uses last names and it
is strange for students who switch
Our transition to wearing bike helmets for the bikes and scooters has gone back and forth between the two
very well. The kids are doing a great job remembering to wear them and we settings. Because the school district
feel so much better with this new level of safety. Remember if you are expects students to call teachers by
uncomfortable with the concept of shared bike helmets you are more than last names this switch will provide a
welcome to send one from home. Please make sure it is labeled with your consistent message about the proper
child’s name. We will have them keep them in their lockers during the day. way to address teachers when they
move onto kindergarten. Another
New Lockers problem we have faced this year is
students dropping the Ms. or Mr. and
The afternoon of June 8th we will be moving lockers so when you arrive for calling teachers by first names only.
pick up you may have to look for your child’s new locker. Sunrays, Rainbows This does not convey respect for
and Explorers will be in the main hall. Kids United will be in the back hall. staff, acknowledgment of authority,
or establish necessary boundaries.
Playground Attire
We know this will be a learning curve
Children who do not have tennis shoes may not ride bikes, scooters or play on as students learn our last names.
the climbers. No exceptions. While we welcome parents to
continue to address teachers by first
names we hope you will support the
change with your children. At the
start of summer teachers will discuss
and teach the changes. If you have
any questions about these changes
please feel free to stop in, call or
email.

Center News Peach
of a
Young Star Parent
Awards
Our formal YoungStar rating for 2017 is over and we have once again been awarded a
five star rating. YoungStar evaluates the providers’ education and training, the Peach of a Parent Awards
learning environment and curriculum, the program’s professional and business go to parents, grandparents
practices, and the children’s health and well being. A five star rating, the highest a or other family members
center can achieve, indicates that a center “meets the highest levels of quality who have given of their time,
standards.” Less than 15% of centers in Wisconsin achieve this rating. talent or treasure this month.
Part of the formal rating includes an unannounced visit by a YoungStar rater who
randomly selects a classroom and spends three hours observing and completing the May’s Awards go to:
Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale, an standardized industry-wide
assessment. The classroom environment, materials and teachers are evaluated in  Gefvert family, Statz
more than 20 areas and a cumulative score of 1-7 is given for each area and then family, Nichols family,
averaged. Our Rainbow classroom was chosen this year and Ms. Kashia, Ms. Abbi Kurszewski family,for
and Ms. Karen A did an amazing job earning a 6.1 average score. This is quite an donating art supplies.
accomplishment and we are so proud of them!
Our recent unannounced licensing visit from the Department of Children and Families  Lisa Dunham for
found the center to be deficiency-free as well. sharing her professional
We are proud to serve you and your children. skills and doing a staff
training on Trauma and
End of the Year Surveys the Effects on Children

Each year we do an end of the year parent satisfaction survey using Survey Monkey.  The Dunham family for
When you receive the invitation we hope you take a few minutes to complete the brief making and donating
survey. Please know we take the results seriously and follow up on any suggestions homemade balance
for improvements. We hope you will use the survey to help us make our center an boards to each
even better place for your children! classroom.

 The Golsons, Shuppes,
and Neugarts for
donating additional
funds the Red Nose
Fund to buy more noses
for other children.

 All the families who
bought red noses,
contributing to the Red
Nose Fund and helping
our kids help stop
childhood poverty-we
raised $118.

 Luke Smith, DC for
teaching the Detectives
about bones and X-
rays.

Luke Smith, DC teaches the Detectives about bones and x-rays.

Dinghies for Dad!

June 22, 2017
Drop in between
5-6:30 pm in the Lunch

Room

Dads, Grandpas, Uncles-
Stop in with your child to build and

decorate a wood sailboat! No
experience required!