In This Week's ACROSS Your Desk:

• Directors Circle: December 7th- Choose Love
• Program Quality Improvement Training: December 12th
• OSTB 6: Equity and Inclusion Training: January 4th
• Guided Resource Walkthrough for SEL Guides for OST: January 9th
• SEL CORNER: Generosity
• NHCIS Updates
• Submit Your GSQ Invoices
• How to Register for an ACROSS NH Training in NHCIS

Directors Circle

Thursday, December 7th

10:30-11:30am on Zoom

"An Introduction to the CHOOSE LOVE Movement," with Dee Dee Thurber

Monthly virtual Directors Circles are the opportunity for out of school time (OST) directors to share successes, challenges, network with like-minded colleagues in the field, ask questions, to build knowledge in a specific topic, or just come to listen.

Click here to read about each month's topic. Register for the dates you want to participate in through the NH Connections Information System (NHCIS). You will receive 1 hour of PD in your NHCIS training transcript. Join us!

If you are having trouble registering in NHCIS, please email Cathy Hazelton at chazelton@acrossnh.org.

Introduction and Overview of ERS and SACERS-U

Tuesday, December 12th

12:00-1:30pm on Zoom

The Environment Rating Scales (ERS) are observational tools that assess process quality of child care programs. This virtual training provides an introduction and overview of the ERS and the School Age Care Environment Rating Scale-Updated (SACERS-U) tool. We will examine the benefits of using the tool for children and for programs. Participants will practice how to use the SACERS-U tool in an out-of-school time (OST) program. This training is intended for programs with school age children in OST. This training fulfills the required Granite Steps for Quality (GSQ) ERS Training for the SACERS Learning Environment Standard Rubric.

This training is provided by Cathy Hazelton, M.Ed.; NH ASMP WT, , PC, IM, NH ADS 3 & LE 3 and SACERS-U Anchor. ACROSS NH can provide a copy of the SACERS-U tool to your program by request once you have completed the training. Please email your request to chazelton@acrossnh.org.

OSTB 6: Equity and Inclusion

Thursday, January 4th

6:30-8:30pm on Zoom

ACROSS NH is proud to provide free virtual and interactive Out of School Time Basics trainings on the National Afterschool Association (NAA) Ten Core Knowledge, Skills & Competencies. These trainings are free thanks to our funding from the NH DHHS and Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration. Click here for the 2023-2024 flyer of ACROSS NH OSTB trainings.

Equity and Inclusion: OST professionals have regular opportunities to facilitate or hinder (in)equity. Practitioners uphold this responsibility through continued personal learning and understanding, disrupting biases and discrimination to the greatest extent possible, and developing programs, policies, and systems that are culturally responsive, inclusive, and supportive of those historically excluded.

A Guided Resource Walkthrough:

A Guide to Social and Emotional Learning for the Afterschool Professional & A Suspension and Expulsion Prevention Policy Guide for NH Afterschool Programs

Tuesday, January 9th

6:30-8:00pm on Zoom

ACROSS NH provides a guided walk through of these two guides for OST. This training presents an opportunity to explore these 2 guides. We will delve into the foundational knowledge and learning competencies of SEL, with an emphasis on the prevention of suspension and expulsion in out of school time (OST). This training is for directors, site directors, and staff that work with school age children in OST programs. You are required to have a copy of “A Guide to SEL for the Afterschool Professional,” and “A Suspension and Expulsion Prevention Policy Guide for NH Afterschool Programs” at the time of the training. (Click on the titles or the images below to download.) Register in NHCIS.

December: Generosity

Dear SEL in OST Community,

Generosity matters for so many reasons! Think of a time when you were a contributor to the happiness or quality outcomes of something or someone you believed in. How did that make you feel to know that your generosity mattered? Generosity can be part of an individual's resiliency code and play a major role in the development of kids who believe that they matter and have the power to effect change in their world. 

Visit https://betterkids.education/blog/the-meaning-of-generosity-and-4-activities-to-encourage-it-in-children for a short article from "better kids."

"We experience joy when others are generous with us and when we are generous with others! Helping your child learn generosity will also help them to be more empathetic and build strong, positive relationships."

Warmly, 

Abigail J. Blodgett, B.S.; NH ASMP

ACROSS NH Social Emotional Learning Coordinator 

ablodgett@acrossnh.org

There are Updates Happening in NHCIS

We are planning to make NHCIS even better by adding features including Provider Enrollment, Credentialling, GSQ, and Training.

The Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration (BCDHSC) has been making updates and improvements to the New Hampshire Connections Information System (NHCIS). The latest changes were made on December 4th, focusing on providing more details about the Background Record Check (BRC) process. The NHCIS User Guide has been updated to show these changes. You can find the guide on the DHHS website, NH-Connections website, and the ACROSS NH website. If you have questions about how to use NHCIS, check the guide, and you'll see the "Last Updated" date on the first page.

Sometimes, when new developments are released, there may be unexpected problems. If something does not function properly, please tell us by submitting a Help Desk Ticket. Please remember, the "help" functions in NHCIS are for technical problems. If you have other questions, contact BCDHSC, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Aware, or ACROSS NH.

A Reminder to Submit Your Quarterly Invoices

Where can I find the Quarterly Quality Invoice to submit to the BCDHSC?

Go to https://www.nh-connections.org/providers/quality-care-matters/.

Where can I email my completed invoice?

Mail your completed invoice to NHGSQ@dhhs.nh.gov.

For more details, refer to page 3 here

or visit https://www.nh-connections.org/providers/quality-care-matters/.

How to Register for an ACROSS NH Training in NHCIS

Log into NHCIS. Go to your "training tile" and click on "take a training." Scroll down and click on "Month" view. Advance to the date of the training that you want to register for and click on the "training title." If you are having trouble registering in NHCIS, please email Cathy Hazelton at chazelton@acrossnh.org.

For more information about NHCIS,

go to https://www.nh-connections.org/providers/nh-professional-registry/.