If you plan to attend the TLCPA Winter Celebration, you must complete our COVID Screening Form prior to arrival.
In this Newsletter:
  • Inclement Weather Policy from Superintendent Matthews
  • Kindergarten learns about Owls, Geometry and Veterinarian Care!
  • Anti-Bias Education: How to approach the holiday season
  • Parent/Caregiver-Teacher Conferences: December 8th
  • ECC Handbook: Please Review and Sign Consent Form
  • If you want to join our Parent/Caregiver Directory, Click Here 
  • Interested in taking Family ASL Classes? Let us know!
  • Shop Deaf-owned businesses this holiday season!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Note: Translations provided by DeepL
Hello, ECC Families!
I do hope that you had a nice fall break and spent some time with your family and loved ones. I can tell you that we came back to work refreshed and eager to work with our ECC students! Our next break is Winter Break and that begins December 23rd at 12 PM! 

For our Kindergarten families, please let our Desert Room Teachers know if you are able to come to Parent/Family and Teacher Conference either through on Zoom or in person. Conferences will be on December 8.  

As you know, we provide monthly home visits to the Preschool/Pre-Kindergarten families in this program, and those visits have begun recently. Our teachers have reached out to schedule a time to come to your home. If you haven’t received a message from your child’s following teacher, please let me know. The purpose of these home visits are so we can share the information regarding your child’s progress and discuss if there are opportunities to provide additional support at home. The goal is to have a strong collaboration between families and teachers to ensure your child receives the best education possible.

Spotlight on Kindergarten!
This week, our Desert Room students were learning, exploring, and inquiring about Owls! The exciting part about this lesson is they will dissect Owl pellets and find bones. Also, students worked with geometric shapes for a math lesson that included counting, sorting, and comparing. And in their dramatic play area, they set up a veterinarian theme!
Anti-Bias Education Corner:
There are many holidays in December, and, as we all know, not everyone celebrates Christmas. For families that are Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, pagan, atheist, or anything else, Christmas can be a difficult time. Here is the approach we use in our classrooms:
 
Christmas is focused upon one religion, and the many Americans who are not Christian must learn how to navigate this time of year.
 
Regardless of the holiday, this season can become extremely commercialized. Many children are getting the message that this is a time of receiving and shopping. We try to share a different experience in our classrooms.
 
Even among families that celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, there is a huge variety in the way these celebrations take place.
 
Now, we have proactive ways to appropriately approach the holiday season:
  • We allow children to express themselves. If a child initiates the discussion, listen, show interest, and ensure the conversation comes back to the idea that different families do different things - and that is great! 
  • We recognize diversity in our classroom.
  • We know our families and their traditions. We can say the words “Christmas” “Hanukkah”, or “Chrismukkah” to families - we just need to be mindful of everyone’s differences.
  • We invite the families to talk about their traditions with the classroom so children experience diversity directly from each other, rather than our teachers. Though they can’t physically come into the room, invite them in virtually or have children “show and tell” photos or letters from their family. 
  • We avoid a tourist approach. Though well-intentioned, many times when teachers try to introduce other winter holidays, they end up conveying misinformation. This is called “Tourist Approach” - where we look at cultures as if we are a tourist instead of having part of who we are. For example, if the Jewish culture is talked about only in December, children may come out thinking that Hanukkah is just a different kind of Christmas and that is all that makes the Jewish individuals different.
  • We decorate using ideas of New England Winter. Decorations of objects like candles, snowmen, snowflakes, and trees are common to a New England experience without being directly tied to holidays. Sleighs and bells, however, hold holiday connotations.
  • We are available to talk to your child about their interests and home customs. If your child-initiated play that is holiday-related, that is okay. We talk to them about it and encourage critical thinking.
Have a great weekend!
A black signature for Milmaglyn Morales
Milmaglyn Morales
Director
Early Childhood Center
Reminders:
  • Wednesday, December 8: Parent/Caregiver Teacher Conferences (ECC/Elementary Only); Student Release at 12 PM
  • December 15: Early Release 12 PM
  • December 23: Early Release 12 PM
  • If your child arrives late, please go to our White House/Admin Building to sign in and then bring your child to the front entrance at ECC building to wait for a staff member
Two green inspired hands. Blue letters underneath The Learning Center for the Deaf.