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PRE-K ALERT
AUGUST 5, 2019
Here's the latest news from The Long Island Pre-K Initiative, your source for  expert training and useful resources:  www.nassauboces.org/pre-k


Tuesday, November 5, 2019
8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 
(continental breakfast and lunch included)
Crest Hollow Country Club, Woodbury




We've attracted national speakers and local experts: Here's a sneak peak at some of the workshops on November 5!

Creating a Family Engagement Action Plan
Building partnerships between families, school leaders and teachers is critical, and
educators need to know how to effectively plan for authentic collaborative opportunities. This interactive working session will provide participants with the tools and resources to create a formal structure for a school's family engagement initiative. Educators, administrators and leaders will assess their current capacity, engage in goal setting, and exchange family engagement tools with a focus on academics, behavior/school culture, relationship building and
professional development.
 
Presenters: Jacob Dixon is CEO of the social justice nonprofit Choice for All. Lynette Batts is the Director of the Family Leadership Network (FLN) at Choice for All. Danielle Asher is Director of Curriculum and Training for FLN.
 
(Not pictured: Lynette Batts.)
 
Gender, Sexuality and the Family
During the preschool years, children are beginning to develop their understandings of gender, sexuality and the family. This workshop is an introduction to the topic and is designed to spark discussion, facilitate the creation of shared language, and provide educators with some of the resources they need to make their classrooms supportive spaces for the development and expansive exploration of identity. Participants will learn to define gender and to reflect on the development of gender stereotypes.
 
Presenter: Helen Frazier is Director of Early Childhood at the City University of New York's Early Childhood Professional Development Institute. 
 
 
Learning Stories as Authentic Assessment--What, Why and How
New Zealand early childhood educators use "learning stories" as an ongoing formative assessment, and they are now being used in some programs in the U.S. These collections of photographs, videos and narratives help educators make child-specific instructional decisions. These learning stories are shared with parents regularly and used to provide better outcomes for students. Hear how using observations and narrative can make our teaching and learning more visible. This workshop is sponsored by Educa.
 
Presenter: Rachel Silva is with Educa, an online early education platform.  
 
 
Movin' and Groovin' Through Pre-K and Kindergarten
This will be a hands-on experiential workshop designed to provide teachers with a toolkit of engaging, fun and age-appropriate dance activities. You will learn how to introduce developmentally specific dance activities into your classroom to enhance your curriculum. In addition, information on current brain research and the impact that dance and movement have on cognition, brain development and language will be discussed.
 
Presenter: Andrew Jannetti is a dance educator with the New York City Department of Education and the Brooklyn Arts Exchange, and is the past president of the New York State Dance Education Association.  
 
 
Nurturing the Brain: Risk and Resilience
Participants will be introduced to the effects of stress on young children--especially the effects of toxic stress on early development. In the aftermath of both natural disasters, such as a hurricane, or man-made trauma, such as a terrorist attack or school shooting, educators are confronted with the challenging question of how to help their students and families cope and recover. As a result of this workshop, you will gain insight into how the brain develops in young children, how the stress response functions, and how resilience can be defined. Finally, you will learn how to encourage the caregiver-child relationships that build resilience.
 
Presenter: Stephanie Dockweiler is the Founder/President of QS2 Training and Consulting, and currently is President of the Board of Directors of the New York Association for the Education of Young Children (NYAEYC).
 
 
STEAM: Hot for Teachers, Cool for Kids
STEAM careers are the future, so let's get students excited now! STEAM provides an engaging and exciting approach for students to connect Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. In this workshop, we take the time to determine curriculum connections, intention and best practices for implementation. You will experience the engineering design process while collaborating with colleagues to create STEAM projects. We will explore and develop open-ended questions to guide children
to a deeper understanding of STEAM concepts. We'll discuss the importance of providing growth-minded feedback, allowing children's natural curiosity to drive their learning. This workshop is sponsored by Lakeshore Learning Materials.
 
Presenter: Jessie Olson is a Professional Development Specialist for Lakeshore Learning Materials.
 

Understanding the Out-of-Sync Child
We have many more senses than five in our body, and they affect the way we take in information, process it and express it. In this workshop, you will learn about sensory processing challenges-what to look for and what can be done to help the child function with less difficulty and more confidence, including exercises to help refocus attention.
 
Presenter: Cheryl Haiken is a Supervisor at Kidz Therapy in Suffolk County and has over 35 years of experience as a behavior analyst and marriage and family therapist. 
 
 
Using Sports and Movement to Enhance Learning
Early childhood education often means moving and learning. We will cover strategies to incorporate everyday fine and gross-motor development to create an exciting learning environment for young children.  Approaches presented will be developmentally appropriate and can inspire learning in domains from health and wellness to literacy and math. Additionally, you will be introduced to examples of quality physical education
curricula that simultaneously address many early learning standards. This workshop is sponsored by SoccerShots.
 
Presenter: Nayeli Calle-Sousa, LCSW, is director of The Harlem Child Development Center Outpatient Clinic and is a leader in the field of mental health.

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Here are some registration tips:
     
Click on the words "REGISTER NOW" in bold red letters above.
 
You are now on the My Learning Plan website, on a page describing the Summer Institute. Click on the blue button that says "enroll." Follow the directions, depending on whether you are a new user or have an existing account.
 
Note:  Each individual must be registered separately. If you are an organization using a business credit card, the credit card number must be entered for each individual, and you may prefer to centralize registration. Nonetheless, each name must be entered individually and an MLP account created for each person.
 
If you are a school district employee or a community-based organization staff member, and your employer is using a purchase order for multiple registrants, check "purchase order." You can disregard statements asking you for an "enrollment approval" form.

When asked for your "District/Organization," select Other-Nassau or Other-Suffolk UNLESS you are an employee of the school district. If your paycheck comes from a school district, select the school district you work for. 
 
If you do not get a course confirmation, please log in again to your My Learning Plan account and review your registration information to make sure it is correct.
 
If you continue to have difficulty with registration, please contact Janet Sluka at 516-396-2263 during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) or email prek@nasboces.org
 
 
 


About Us
The Long Island Pre-K Initiative is a grant-funded project that seeks to strengthen partnerships between school districts and community-based organizations and to share information about research, policy and best practices for early learning. Administered by Nassau BOCES, it is supported with expertise from The Early Years Institute and funds from the Rauch and Hagedorn Foundations. Our partners: Eastern Suffolk BOCES, Western Suffolk BOCES, and the Child Care Councils of Nassau and Suffolk.







NASSAU BOCES DEPARTMENT OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
71 Clinton Road, Garden City, NY 11530-9195
Phone: (516) 396-2220  Fax: (516)-396-2355
www.nassauboces.org