Weekly Director Letter 1/19/2024

Weekly Newsletter 1/19/2024

Dear Parents,

We kicked off January in a big way! On Monday, we were closed for a professional development day. Our staff participated in an all-day training, which included a session to recharge and inspire with Early Childhood expert Dr. Kimberly Johnson. The second part of the day was a session on Conscious Discipline. Teachers learned breathing and self-regulation activities to help their students be successful and grounded. The day ended with a song and dance session from world renowned music educator and YouTube sensation Miss Patty.

On Tuesday, all students in attendance participated in assemblies with Miss Patty. A FABULOUS time was had by all. You can view the full-length videos of all 3 performances on our website. Simply go to our PARENT CORNER and scroll down to the NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENT section. There, you will see a clickable link to take you to the YouTube videos.

Our teachers have been using Patty's music for years in our program. They will now have access to her online site, where they can teach many concepts, including sign language, to our students. You can search for her on YouTube by simply typing in MISS PATTY. She has over 600 educational video clips, most under 5 minutes each.

Kids For Kids Academy is known statewide for our innovation and excellence in education. We have been asked to pilot many new educational programs. I am excited to announce that we have been chosen to participate in a Pre-K tutoring program. At the end of January, our Orange Door Pre VPK class, as well as our 2 VPK classes, will be assigned tutors to assist our students with early literacy skills. Florida Early Learning Corps will be providing the tutors. All have been background screened and trained by Florida Early Learning Corps. We are very excited for this opportunity.

As part of this program, we will be seeking donations of USED all-in-one computers to assist our tutors. All it needs to have is access to WIFI and the internet. If you have one to donate, please let me know.

Finally, with Valentine's Day around the corner, parents may want to begin buying Valentines for our annual exchange. Please note, as we do not permit candy at our school, Valentines for the exchange cannot have candy of any kind. There are many creative Valentine options out there that do not include candy.

To make passing out Valentines easier for students and staff, have your child's name on the back of the Valentine so friends will know who they are from. The children will drop one in each of their friends' bags which they will decorate at school.

Please take a look at the list below to know how many children are in your child's classroom.

Green: 8

Red: 12

Yellow: 20

Blue: 21

Rainbow: 21

Orange: 17

Purple: 17

Brown: 20

Gold Kindergarten: 16

Gold First Grade: 12

Gold Second Grade: 9