Trike-a-Thon

Levy Action!

Just a reminder that your ballots for the Levy need to be mailed by Feb. 14th, which is Tuesday.

Replacement Levy 2012 – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q – What is the Replacement Levy?

A – This is a levy that is voted on by the citizens in a school district that allows the district to collect a property tax that provides funding for the public schools.

Q – Is this an additional levy beyond what we are currently paying?

A – No, this is a replacement levy that will take the place of the levy that was approved in 2009. The 2009 levy will expire after 2012.

Q – How will the passage of this levy affect property tax?

A – It is estimated that tax rates will be $2.14-$2.38 per $1000 of assessed value. The 2012 rate is $1.94 per $1000. Please see slides 21-23 for the rates over the previous 20+ years, in the slide presentation at http://www.psd401.net/staticfiles/psd/documents/2012_Replacement_Levy_Presentation.pdf

Q – How much more will this replacement levy cost the average homeowner?

A – The current levy approved by the taxpayers in 2009 will be assessed at $1.94 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2012. A homeowner with a home valued at $300,000 would pay $582 in property taxes to the Peninsula School District. The proposed replacement levy estimates tax rates to be $2.14 in 2013 or about $642 for a $300,000 home. This would be $60 difference annually, or $5 per month.

Q – When will this replacement levy take effect?

A – Voters are being asked to approve a four-year levy which, if passed, will be in effect from 2013-2016.

Q – What do the levy dollars pay for?

A – Many years ago, when the levy system was initiated, the intent was that levy dollars would be used to pay for extras that a community wanted to provide within their school system.

However, over the years, as other funding sources have decreased, levy dollars have become more and more important as support for basic programs and services. In the Peninsula School District, levy dollars now provide over 20% of the operating budget. Current levy dollars pay for:

· 20% of the cost of classroom teachers · 40% of the cost for custodians, paraeducators and clerical staff · 80% of athletic and co-curricular costs · 100% of the cost of health technicians · 85% of technology staff and equipment · 100% of maintenance projects

· The 4-day, all-day free kindergarten program · 60% of textbooks and instructional materials · Supplemental funding for school security and emergency preparedness

Helping the behaviorally challenging child.....

HELPING THE BEHAVIORALLY CHALLENGING CHILD

“This wonderful class has profoundly changed the relationship with me and my son - my husband,

too. We talk more. He tantrums less. And he feels empowered - he owns the solutions and therefore

works hard to carry it out. Thanks for teaching this class with such passion!” - Emily S

If you are a parent or teacher of a child for whom sticker charts,

rewards and other behavior programs just don’t seem to work, or

your child gets frustrated and melts down or simply puts on the

brakes, this class series will explore these and other issues

through Collaborative Problem Solving* and other positive

communication practices. The presenter brings her personal

experience as well as her experience helping other families and

schools with these challenges.

You will learn:

¨ What’s getting in your child’s way

¨ Why traditional behavior plans aren’t working

¨ Communication methods that will create solutions and foster independence

¨ Common roadblocks and how to deal with them

¨ How to help your child become a flexible, tolerant problem-solver

Presenter Sara Gardner is the parent of a former "challenging"

child, and has been a professional trainer for 25 years. She

teaches parenting classes to parents with children encompassing

a wide range of disabilities, as well as those with typicallydeveloping

children. She has received training from Dr. Ross

Greene, author of "The Explosive Child" at his Center for

Collaborative Problem Solving, and from Stuart Ablon at

Think:Kids. Sara currently serves as President on the board of

directors for the Autism Society of King County, and works at

Bellevue College as Program Advisor for their Autism Spectrum

Navigators program, which she developed.

*Collaborative Problem Solving was originated by Ross Greene, PhD in his

book “The Explosive Child.” For more information on this model, recently

recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics as one of only two

methods that work for “defiant” children, go to Think:Kids – Rethinking

Challenging Kids at www.thinkkids.org.

To register or ask a question contact Sara at 425.298.4409 or

sesgardner@gmail.com. Class outline: www.BehaviorToday.info

2 Saturdays

March 10 &

March 24, 2012

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

University of Puget Sound

1500 N Warner, Tacoma WA

Weyerhaeuser Hall

room tbd

Saturday March 10th 9:00-1:00

Collaborative Beginners

$45, includes materials and

e-mail consultation

Additional family member

sharing materials, $30

Saturday March 24th 9:00-1:00

Advanced Collaboration

$45, includes materials and

e-mail consultation

Additional family member

sharing materials, $30

BOTH classes for $80, $50 for

second family member

Register by March 4 to

ensure your spot!

www.BehaviorToday.info

Garage Sale....

If you are anything like me, and like to get an early start on cleaning out closets, cabinets and the garage before spring, you might be finding yourself with a pile that's due to donate to Goodwill. Well, I wanted to catch you before you took that trip. The Co-op will be having our annual Garage Sale mid-May and we need those donations. So what I am doing is hanging onto those items I've cleared out and designated a bin in the garage to donate toward the Preschool's garage sale in May- and I hope you do the same! Oh, and I am also telling my friends that I'll take what they have too!!

Not to sound too Martha Stewart-ish, but, "It's a good thing!"

Take care all of you!
Annie
Newsletter Chair

Presidential Address.....

Hello Preschool Families!

I'm excited to take over as co- president with Therise as we finish out the rest of the school year! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if you are interested in getting involved with any of the upcoming fundraisers. Thanks for supporting our wonderful preschool!

Stephanie Traugutt
253-677-8226
sktraugutt@yahoo.com


April 20, 2007

Bates Update

Dear Parents,

The phrase “children learn through play” is a one that we Early Childhood Educators toss around freely and often. I suspect that it is not always as well understood as we think. Hopefully the following will help you understand how this concept works in preschool.

·         “Preschoolers are wigglers and doers”. No surprise here. We all know that. That is why it achieves better results to work with children by providing engaging activities than to work against their natures by making them sit still for long periods of time, talking at them, having a rigid structure, and having all the children do the same thing at the same time.

·         “Research shows that young children learn best through manipulation of materials and age-appropriate hands-on experiences.” A quality preschool will be noisy and busy. It may look chaotic to the untrained eye. Further looking will reveal real learning going on as children explore, investigate, manipulate, and try something over and over again. They truly are young scientists figuring out how the world works. If a child figures out something for himself he will remember it much better than if someone just tells him. As I saw on a sign in a preschool, “telling is not teaching”.

·         “In a high-quality preschool, learning is embedded in activities….” This is probably the hardest concept to grasp. Children are learning numbers and letters, for example, just not always with paper and pencil. They learn letters through being read to, seeing words on their cubbies, name tags, place mats, doing letter puzzles, singing the alphabet song, and in general playing in a print-rich environment with many adults to answer their questions and stimulate their intellect.  They learn counting through finger plays, counting how many children are sitting in circle, how many place mats to set at the table, how many blocks to make a tower, how many children are absent that day and on and on. The teachers do provide a curriculum – it just doesn’t look like high school or even elementary school. It looks like play and that is exactly what it should be. “The best early childhood programs use play to get at academics. One doesn’t rule out the other.”

·         “When learning through play, progress isn’t gauged in terms of a right or wrong answer.” Preschool activities are usually open-ended. So a three year old may use the same materials, do some of the same activities or read the same books as a five year old, yet get something totally different out of them. Even children of the same age will be at different levels of developmental. Some four year olds recognize all the letters of the alphabet while others may recognize only the one at the beginning of their names. As long as children are in a rich environment with skilled adults, they will learn what they need to succeed. A love of learning and an excitement about life are more important to success in school than knowing particular facts or skills.

I have been involved in early childhood education for over twenty five years. Many things have changed in the field since I started, but the message that children learn through play has not changed.

If you have questions or concerns about your individual child and/or about the curriculum, talk with your teacher or me. Let’s keep doing what is best for children and let them play.

Carol

The words in quotation marks are from a Tacoma News Tribune article “Preschool Students Learn Best Through Curiosity-Building Play” from a Parent to Parent column by Betsy Flagler written a few years ag

February LIfe Lines.....

February is National Heart Health Awareness Month. Heart disease is the number one cause of death for both men and women in America. The most common type is Coronary Artery Disease. This form causes a narrowing of the coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen and nutrients. So, let's support our kids by helping them develop healthy habits now. We can start by being good role models and keep things positive. Kid’s don’t like to hear what they can’t do, tell them what they can do instead. Keep it fun and positive. Everyone likes to be praised for a job well done. Celebrate successes and help your children develop a good self-image. Try limiting time in front of the television, encourage physical activity and make dinnertime family time.
February is also National Children's Dental Health Month. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry suggests that children visit the dentist by their first birthday. Once a child’s diet includes anything besides breast-milk, erupted teeth are at risk for decay. The earlier the dental visit, the better the chance of preventing dental problems. Children with healthy teeth chew food easily and smile with confidence. Start your child now on a lifetime of good dental habits.

SmileMobile is coming to:
VAUGHN
March 21^st- 25^th, 2012
Vaughn Elementary School
17521 Hall Road Vaughn, WA 98394
The SmileMobile:

¨ provides dental care to children (birth through high school) with limited family income

¨ accepts State of Washington Services Card (Provider One) and sliding fee scale based on family income

To schedule an appointment or for more information, please call:
Jennifer Bunch at 253-272-1101before March 15^th.
Appointments must be scheduled before March 21st

The SmileMobile is operated by Washington Dental Service Foundation in partnership with Seattle Children’s Hospital. This event/activity is NOT being sponsored by the school district and the district assumes no responsibility for the conduct of or safety of the event/activity. In consideration for the privilege to distribute these materials, the school district shall be held harmless from any cause of action, claim, or petition filed in any court or administrative tribunal arising out of the distribution of these materials, including all costs, attorney’s fees, and judgments or awards.

"K" is for Kim

Hello Vaughn Families!

I am hoping that all of the inclement weather is behind us, or at least the kind of weather that prevents us from having preschool!  We will be making up some of our days here at Vaughn on March 14, 15 & 16^th.  We will also be moving our year end picnic to Friday, June 8. 

We will be talking about family and love during the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day.  We will be doing some shape and color patterning along with learning Mat Man from our Handwriting without Tears curriculum.  I will be working with each of the children individually over the next few weeks to gather some data to see what areas I may need to be working on a little more.  I want to make sure that all of the children who are going into Kindergarten are ready.

I will be sending home more information on the Trike a Thon soon, if you have any questions in regards to this fundraiser please do not hesitate to contact me!  Don’t forget to be talking to family members and friends to “sponsor” your child J

Thank you so much for all of your support, our classroom would not be what it is without you!!!

Take Good Care,
Teacher Kim