oct. 5 ed. 3

Westmoreland

County

Community

College

Early Childhood

Education Program

Beth Hoden

Office Phone: 724-925-4013

Email: [email protected]

Nancy Rustic



ECE Support

Vicki Hricik



WCCC Early Childhood Education

Program Newsletter

Got ECE News? Email Vicki at

[email protected] Volume 3, Edition 3

October 5, 2011

Save the dates! 1

New ECE 181 Course 2

Westmoreland County

Food Bank Food Drive 3

PAEYC 5K 4

Nickers ‗N Neighs Volunteer Opportunity

4

Early Literacy

Conference Information 5

Become a PAEYC member

Professional Development 6

Inside this issue:

The mission of this newsletter is to keep all ECE students informed of ECE Club

activities, volunteer events in the community, ECE professional development

opportunities, and anything related to the ECE field.

Save the Dates for Upcoming Events!

Oct. 15 ~ Student Role Model Conference ~ 12 noon—6 PM

Registration is FREE to all WCCC students! Email

Kayla West for more information at [email protected].

Oct. 23 ~ PAEYC’s 5 K Race for Learning and 1-Mile Walk ~

It would be great to form a team of WCCC ECE

Club members!

Nov. 18 ~ Early Learning Literacy Conference ~

8:30 AM –3:30 PM

Digital Media Literacy and Young Children

Cost ~ Full time students

$20 for PAEYC members

$25 non-members

“Achieving Early

Learning Standards

Through Play” New ECE three college credit course

to begin Tuesday, October 11

REGISTER TODAY!

New ECE College Course Begins October 11th

The Early Childhood Education Program is pleased to announce a new three college

credit course is being offered. The course code and title is ECE 181, “Achieving Early

Learning Standards Through Play.” This course is open to all interested students.

Course Description:

Leading scholars in early childhood education have all recognized that play is the basis of

good early childhood pedagogy and practice. Moreover, play is THE fundamental cornerstone

for children‘s development. In recent years, early learning standards have been developed,

identifying what children need to know and be able to do. Standards are the ends of ECE; the

means or process to meet these standards is play. This course is designed to provide compre-

hensive investigation of how we maintain fidelity to all domains of development and play and

still meet the early standards for all children ages 3 to 8 years. Site visits are required.

Instructor Bio:

Dr. Ernie Dettore is currently a Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of

Pittsburgh, a Consultant to numerous early childhood programs, a Play Expert with the

Early Head Start program, an Advocate for issues relating to children, a Teacher Mentor, and

Founder of the P.L.A.Y Academy. He has 17 years experience in higher education, teaching at

Edinboro University, Duquesne University and Westmoreland County Community College.

While at Duquesne, Dr. Dettore designed the undergraduate and graduate Early Childhood

Programs and served as the Director of Early Childhood Education. He earned a Doctorate in

Education in Instruction and Learning from Pitt in 1993. In February 2007, he co-edited a

book titled ―To Play or Not to Play: Is It Really a Question.‖

The course will meet every other Tuesday from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. The dates are as fol-

lows: October 11, 25, November 8, 15, 29, December 13, January 10, 24, February 7, 21,

March 6, 20, April 3, 17, and May 1.

Some of the topics covered in the course include:

Approaches to Learning through Play Constructing: Organizing & Applying Knowledge

Scientific Thinking & Technology : Exploring, Inquiry & Discovery

Language and Literacy Development: Early Literacy Foundations: Reading, Writing,

Speaking, and Listening

Facilitating Children‘s Play.

To register, call the WCCC registration center at 1-800-

262-2103, ext. 4204. Please give the course code ECE

181, Achieving Early Learning Standards Through Play.

The Westmoreland County Food Bank is looking for individuals and groups to help them during the

upcoming Fall Food Share Food Drive at participating Giant Eagle Supermarkets. Volunteers support

this drive by handing out a "most-needed" items list to customers and encourage them to purchase

a few extra items to donate to the Food Bank. Please register to help a couple of hours on

Saturdays or Sundays between Oct. 20 and Nov. 16. This volunteer experience is family-friendly

and young children are welcome to volunteer with the adults in their family or group. Create a

group by asking friends or family to join you. Schedule is filled on a first come, first serve basis.

To schedule to volunteer at your local Giant Eagle store, contact Louise Wilhelm at (724) 468-8660

ext. 13 or email her at [email protected].

Volunteer for the Fall Food Share Food Drive

WCCC Early Childhood Education Program Newsletter

PAEYC’s & 1-Mile Walk

Let’s join the fun and form a team! We could represent the WCCC ECE program at this

special event. We could participate and help to raise awareness about the importance of play,

physical activity, and education for our youngest learners. Whole families are welcomed and

children’s participation is encouraged. Entry fees are as follows: non-PAEYC members $20,

PAEYC members $17, registration day of event $25, 1-mile walk $10 family fee. Register now

at www.pghaeyc.org. Let’s go out and play!

Volunteer Opportunities Volunteers are needed at Nickers ‗N Neighs, a non-profit therapeutic rid-

ing center that uses equine activities to promote the cognitive, physical, emo-

tional and social well being of people with disabilities. The riding center‘s ad-

dress is 260 Mountain Trails Lane, Acme, PA 15610. It is located on a 54 acre

farm not far from the crossroads of Route 31, 711 and the Pennsylvania Turn-

pike‘s Exit 91. They are currently accepting volunteers, students, monetary do-

nations, supplies and services from the community. If you are interested in par-

ticipating or supporting the program, please contact them by calling 724-771-

1099 or 724-593-8121. Check out their website for more info at

www.kidsonhorses.org.

Volume 3, Edition 3

To earn Pennsylvania DPW hours as required, check out the PA Keys website,

www.pakeys.org, for professional development opportunities. Westmoreland County

Community College sponsors affordable ECE workshops made possible through South-

west Regional Key funding. Scheduled workshops at WCCC - Fayette County Education

Center in Uniontown, WCCC - Greene County Education Center and WCCC Youngwood

Campus are already posted. Please email Vicki Hricik for more information,

[email protected].

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

If you have any ECE

news and volunteer

opportunities

that you would like

to share, please

email Vicki at

[email protected].

Professional Development Opportunities

WCCC Early Childhood Education Newsletter

WCCC Early Childhood Education Program Newsletter

The Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC) is the professional member-

ship organization for those involved with the early care an education of young children. Doctors,

lawyers, and other professionals have membership associations which provide a unified voice on be-

half of their members. In the same way, PAEYC serves as a community resource, and advocate for

quality, and a voice for those in the profession of early care and education. PAEYC currently serves

over 1000 members and is governed by an elected board. Members and those interested are en-

couraged to serve on a committee and take an active role in PAEYC programs including Membership

Services, Advocacy & Public Policy, and Professional Development.

Benefits of Membership Become a Member! Membership in national, state, and local affiliates

6 issues of Young Children, NAEYC's journal

Exclusive access to PAEYC Newsletters

Reduced rates to PAEYC and NAEYC conferences

Career advising services

Meets STARS 3 Requirements

Borrowing privileges with PAEYC's early childhood resource library

Voting rights and eligibility to hold office in PAEYC, Penn AEYC, and NAEYC

Opportunity to participate in insurance plans offered through NAEYC

Become a Member of PAEYC

At least two ECE

Club representatives

are needed to attend

the Student

Organization

meetings. Please see

Beth or Nancy.

http://www.naeyc.org/membership/join

oct. 5 ed. 3

Documents