How do YOU like to be commu-

nicated with? Communication is one of

the hardest things we do. Because

teachers are in the classroom with

the children most of the day and be-

cause the limited amount of time they

are out of the classroom is used for

planning, assessment and preparation,

it is sometimes difficult to find time

for optimal communication between

teachers and family members.

Some forms of communication

in our program are more informal or

indirect. For example, by looking at

lesson plans you can get a picture of

what your child did at school that day.

Instead of asking your child at pick up

time, “What did you do today?” which

may illicit the classic response of

“nothing” or “played”, you can ask

“What was it like painting with

feathers?” or “Tell me about the

duck story you heard at circle time

today.” Look around the classroom

for recent art work, photos, dicta-

tion (adults write down something

the children dictate to them), or

other signs of special classroom

experiences. Also, those brief ex-

changes in the morning and evening

when dropping off or picking up

your child can be very informative

for both parents and teachers.

Some forms of communica-

tion are more direct and formal.

Twice a year parent conferences

are offered. Monthly classroom

newsletters inform parents about

events and upcoming changes, as

(Continued on page 2)

Keeping in Touch October 2011

Volume 12, Issue 2

ACC-CLS Parent News

Inside this issue:

Fall Parent Conferences 2

Word from the Director

(continued) 2

Invitation from the

Parent Association

3

The Wonder of

Learning

3

Calendar 4

Interested in contribut-ing or seeing a particular topic in our newsletter? See Dawn or Teri.

Important Dates:

Parent Workshop Series, Part 1: —

Wednesday, 10/12,

5:30-7 p.m.

PA Meeting—

Wednesday, 10/19,

5:30-6:30 p.m.

Fall Festival—Friday, November

4, 3:30-5 p.m.

Time Change:

FALL Back—Sunday,

11/6

OCTOBER PARENT MEETINGS Supporting Your Child’s Developing Social Competence

Wednesday, October 12, 5:30-7 p.m. (Pre-registration required/Deadline was October 6)

Parent Association Meeting

Wednesday, October 19, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Please sign up at the front desk or e-mail dleach@austincc.edu

A Word from the Director

Page 2 ACC-CLS Parent News

well as give friendly reminders. “Document”

boards made by teachers or students may share

information and photos about a special activity,

like a cooking activity or field trip, or may visu-

ally show how and what children learn when they

participate in certain classroom experiences.

Infant-toddler activity sheets or notes home in

the preschool classrooms also give you a glimpse

of your child’s day or alert you to things you may

need to bring. Notes posted on the classroom

door alert you to illnesses or inform you of staff

changes for the day.

The calendar, program newsletters, fliers

sent home and posted at the front desk or on

classroom doors, and e-mail reminders also help

inform about upcoming events.

(Continued from page 1)

Word from the Director—Communication (continued)

Monthly Parent Association meetings

offer an opportunity to communicate with the

director and other parents in the program.

Parent representatives for each classroom make

occasional phone calls or send e-mails to parents

in their child’s classroom to remind them about

upcoming events. The director or administrative

assistant also send out reminders about upcom-

ing center wide events or important information.

Please make sure that

you update contact

information when it

changes to help us all

stay connected and

informed.

It is time for fall parent conferences! Fall conferences are the first formal opportunity of the year for teachers and parents to share infor-mation about their child’s development and interests and discuss goals for the year. Teachers will have information and observations to share to help paint a picture of your child’s development and school life. Think about information you may want to share about your child. This might include new interests or skills that your child has acquired, growth or changes you have observed, or family infor-mation that can be helpful in understanding your child’s needs. During the conference you and the teacher will discuss your child’s strengths and needs and together set goals to support his or her continuing growth and development. Classrooms will offer parent conferences as follows: Sunbeams—November 7-11 Moons—December 8-14 Stars—November 28-December 2 Planet Earth—November 14-23 Make-up conferences—December 5-9 Conferences last 30 minutes. Watch for a sign up sheet on your child’s classroom door a week or two before the above dates. Please keep in mind that staffing has to be arranged for teachers to be out of the classroom for parent conferences. Be sure and sign up for a time that will be conven-ient for you to attend, make a note of the time and if you find that you will be unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible. Because other classrooms will be offering conferences during this time too, any make-up conferences will be scheduled during the week of December 5-9.

FALL PARENT CONFERENCES

Today we...

The next Parent Association meeting will be

held Wednesday, October 19, 5:30-6:30. In

addition to business, planning and communication,

Shannon Saldana, Sunbeams Assistant Teacher,

will present information about the new Teaching

Strategies electronic developmental assessment

the Lab School transitioned to this year. She will

show a sample portfolio.

Officers:

Chair—Erin Romero and Mison Zuniga

Secretary—Thomas Bacon

Treasurer—Rick Taylor

Room Representatives:

Bee Changwatchai and Amy Esqueda

(Sunbeams)

Chairmaine Mackson and Kalie Nasworthy (Moons)

Patti Zuniga and Bethany Bell (Stars)

Mollie Newcomb (Planet Earth)

Parent representatives give reminders to par-

ents in their child’s classroom about fundraisers or

special events.

The purpose of the Parent Association includes:

1. Choosing, organizing and implementing fundrais-

ing projects to benefit the program.

2. Providing opportunities for parent education

and support by assisting with the planning of

parenting workshops.

3. Acting as an avenue for communication between

staff and parents by providing an opportunity

to discuss questions, compliments and concerns

as well as share ideas.

A light meal and child

care are provided for

meetings. We ask that

you sign up at the front

desk or email Dawn at

dleach@austincc.edu by

Friday, 10/14 if you

plan to attend so that

we can plan for food

and child care staff. Thanks!

Volume 12, Issue 2

Parent Association Invites Your Participation

Page 3

HELP US WELCOME THE NEW ADDITIONS TO THE FAMILY

Maizi

Christopher and Camilla

BITS AND PIECES

It’s not too late to register for the

second Fall Parenting Workshop

Sleep Katie Bartley, MSW-Sleep Consultant

Wednesday, November 9, 5:30-7 p.m.

Forms at the front desk.

Join us for our annual

Friday, November 4 3:30-5 p.m.

FOOLISH FALLISH FUN Activities and Snacks on the Playgrounds

WE WELCOME FAMILY PARTICIPATION!!!

Our NAEYC Accreditation is up in

February 2013. We just learned

that the paper work for our self

study is due May 31, 2011 and

that our visit will occur between

June 1 and November 30, 2012.

We will use an electronic portfolio

this time around and are looking

forward to showing evidence for

the improvements we have made

since our last visit. We will be very

focused on this project in the

spring.

Watch for more information at an

upcoming PA meeting. We will use

the NAEYC Family Survey form

required for the visit for our

annual parent survey in the spring.

Watch for a Survey

Monkey link or a paper

survey later this month

to get your input as we

review and revise our

snack menu.

Staff Notes Congratulations to Shannon Saldana who was accepted to Sam Houston for Spring 2012. Don’t worry though! She will be completing her four year degree online. Chris Owens and Becky Olivarez continue to attend new trainings focused on the PK age group through the Texas School Ready project and CLASS (which focuses on social-emotional development by assessing the quality of adult-child and child-child interactions). Dawn attended the TAEYC conference in Arlington in September. Sandi Polasek and Gloria Perez attended a Child Abuse Training sponsored by the Texas Association for Infant Mental Health. Sandi will present the information at a staff training for hourly employees this month. June Yeatman is teaching Infant-Toddler Development and Dawn Leach is teaching Administration I and II for the Child Development Department this fall. June Yeatman is serving on a state committee looking at learning standards for infants and toddlers. Chris Owens and Lesli Sparkman Williams are participating in the ACC Cultural Competence Work Group.

With temperatures finally dropping below 100 degrees and the real end of summer in sight, we are starting to see a little fall weather. Remem-ber to check your child’s cubby area to make sure that they have extra clothing that is appropriate for cooler weather. You may also want to consider keeping a light jacket or sweatshirt at school in case the weather changes suddenly during the day. Speaking of extra clothing, we can use donations of clothing that your child may have outgrown. We especially need the following in sizes 2-8:

Shorts Long pants Underwear Socks Shoes Light jackets

Remember, the Lab School is no longer able to accept payments onsite. You may pay Child Care tuition and/or late fees:

at the ACC Cashier’s Office on any campus—Go to http://www.austincc.edu/busdept/cashier for hours of operation and location. Remember to take your invoice with you and then bring us a copy of the receipt so that we can credit your account, OR online at Market Place (instructions are available at the front desk). A receipt will automatically be emailed to us.

Lunch Box Reminders:

Include at least one “blue ice” (two is better). You can also

freeze small containers with water and put them in to save

money. Storing the bag in the freezer overnight helps too. Pack all four components each day—protein, fruit, vegetable

and carbohydrate.

Cut round food items like wieners, carrots and grapes in half to prevent choking (this is required for children under 3 yr).

Nuts and nut products are not allowed at the center due to

children with allergies. Evaluate sugar content in foods like yo-

gurt and fruit cups. Gogurt, Jello and

pudding should not be sent to school in your child’s lunches. Open fruit cups,

drain the juice off and then pack it in a

container that your child can open on their own.

3401 Webberville Road

Austin, Texas 78702

*Thanksgiving Holidays………………………………………… November 24-25

Last Day ACC Fall Semester………………………………. December 9

*Staff Development Day………………………………….…. December 19-20

*Winter Break……………………………………………………….. December 21-30

*Martin Luther King Holiday……………………………….. January 16

ACC Spring Semester Begins……………………………… January 17

*Spring Break…………………………………………………………. March 12-16

Last Day ACC Spring Semester………………………….. May 11

*Memorial Day Holiday…………………………………………. May 28

ACC Summer Semester Begins…………………………… May 29

*Independence Day Holiday…………………………………..July 4

ACC Summer Semester Ends……………………………… August 15

+Last Day for Graduating Lab School Children….August 17

+Room Preparation and Staff Development Week…August 20-24

+ACC 2009-2010 Academic Year Begins…………….August 27

*Lab School will be closed to children on these dates

+Dates are tentative

512/223-5200

512/223-5220 (fax)

www.austincc.edu\childdev

2011-12 Calendar at a Glance

Austin Community College Children’s Lab School is a

preschool program for children, six months through five

years of age, that serves as a demonstration school

for the ACC Child Development Department. The Chil-

dren’s Lab School offers an early childhood program

designed to support the growth and development of

young children in a warm and creative environment.

Through field work experiences in a lab setting, stu-

dents observe the principles of child development and

gain practical experience with young children under the

supervision and guidance of qualified classroom teach-

ers. The Children’s Lab School is licensed by the Texas

Department of Family and Protective Services and is

accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood

Programs (NAECP), a division of the National Associa-

tion for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Reminder:

Donate TODAY to the Parent

Association’s FUNd Appeal

WHY? Fewer fundraisers! No item donations No raffle ticket sales The PA can spend its time and energy planning FUN events, rather than fundraising events!

Friends and family can donate too.

If you have misplaced your form, ask for another one at the front desk.