Fall
2018
Donor Newsletter 


We have had e a great start to our 2018-2019 school year and our children and teachers are enjoying all of the enhancements we have made to our program. We are implementing a new curriculum in our preschool classrooms called Connect4Learning®. It features project-based units designed to support learning and child development. The lessons and activities work toward a larger goal, such as growing a garden, creating a coral reef, or a toy factory right in the classroom. Through the projects and classroom activities, the curriculum weaves together literacy, science, social-emotional, and mathematics rather than segmenting it as traditional methods of instruction do.
 
We are also implementing a new parent communication application called himama®. Through this app., teachers will be able to connect with parents using digital communication. By logging into their account via the web or the free mobile application, parents will be able to monitor their child's developmental progress, receive daily reports on how the day was, receive classroom or center notices, and get pictures of their children engaging in activities.
 
Our children and teachers are already having great fun with the new curriculum and communication tool. It's wonderful to hear the laughter and see the smiles on our students' faces as they are preparing for school and life.
 
-Cornelia Stevens

TOP Early Learning Centers 
Help Beyond the Classroom

Motherhood has challenges, and sometimes a little help and encouragement are needed. That's exactly what single mom Elizabeth Calvillo found when she enrolled her then two-year-old daughter Alissa at TOP Early Learning Center Northwest a little more than a year ago.

Elizabeth was looking for childcare so she could work during the day. She had a niece who had previously attended TOP, and her family recommended she look into placing Alissa there. Elizabeth and her three children had recently moved near TOP Northwest, so she made an appointment to find out how she might be able to get financial assistance so her youngest child could attend.  (More) 

TOP Parent Scholarship Recipients Graduate and Prepare for Promising Futures

Part of TOP's goal is to support working families, and we believe helping parents achieve their educational goals is a big part of that. We are proud to announce that In May, five of our TOP parents completed degree/certification programs.  ( More)

Wichita Police Department North Patrol Reads to TOP North Kids

At the beginning of the year, TOP North began a new program, "Police Reading to Preschoolers." Every third Friday and third Monday, a Wichita police officer comes to the school's library, picks out a fun and colorful book, and reads to one classroom at a time for an hour.

Officer Brent Johnson was recently on hand to read to children and chose the book Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin. The children listened intently as he flipped through the brightly illustrated pages and read them the story of a worm that lives with his parents, plays with his friends, and even goes to school.  (More)
TOP North is in need of a volunteer librarian. 
Interested? Contact Tiffany @ 316-977-9804.