Announcements & Business:
1. Plans
for 2015 – 2016
- Meet monthly on a rotation at a variety of
Lutheran EC centers/schools in the Rockford Area
-Prefer Thursdays from 4:30 – 6:30
·
We will follow the topics as decided by the east
region EC network
·
Topics suggested by the east region were
discussed and affirmed as great topics for next year:
o Assessments/screenings/
portfolios/conferences
o Handwriting
o Accreditation
o Safe
Centers (Erin’s Law)
o The
Challenging Child- The Challenging
Family
o Guest
Speaker- Marie Masterson
o Enhancing
Your Classroom Centers
o Missional
Outreach to Families (Special Events)
·
Additional topic suggested :
o Balancing
between Developmentally Appropriate Practice and the high expectations for
academics by parents/ The trickle-down
effect of academics
·
Melissa and Julie will work together on these
topics and scheduling schools to host the meetings. Mary Cannon from Rockford Lutheran will
work with them to make some connections with the Rockford area schools,
especially once a framework is set up in the east region network.
2. Job
Posting
- Rockford Lutheran is looking for a full time
preschool teacher and a full time Elementary Librarian. Contact Mike Rottman at Rockford Lutheran
3. Other
announcements
-Rockford Lutheran has a upright piano to donate
to a good home. Free delivery. Contact Mary Cannon at Rockford Lutheran
-We recognized Sue Breuer from Immanuel,
Belvidere, who is retiring at the end of this school year.
-Melissa Smith has accepted the Early Childhood
Coordinator position at Concordia University, Chicago. She will be replacing Patti Hoffman, who is
retiring and moving to LasVegas
-The Concordia University Early Childhood
Conference will be held on Fri. August 7, 2015.
Early registration will be $110 for everyone who registers by July
16. Here’s the link for more information
about the conference: https://www.cuchicago.edu/globalassets/documents/academics/gip/registration-forms-2015/ecec_15final.pdf
4. “Safe
Schools” sharing time:
-The “Safe Church” website, ( https://www.safechurch.com/Pages/Default.aspx
)which is sponsored by Guide One Insurance is extremely helpful with safety
procedures, checklists, and topics. It
is kept very current with these items and can be used by schools even if they
do not carry the Guide 1 Insurance. If
you do have their insurance and use many of these items on this site, it could
help reduce your school’s insurance costs.
Christ the Rock, Rockford, has used this site and information very
effectively through the years and highly recommends this website, program and
insurance.
-Immanuel Belvidere shared about their 2 buzzer
system door along with some safety grants through the state of Illinois which
assisted them in purchasing locks and walkie talkies. They also shared their challenges and
concerns about student safety when on field trips and the playground when the
public has more access to their students.
-Rockford Lutheran talked about some customized
pieces that were put on their locks to assist with locking the rooms from the
inside of the classroom. Here is a
website that has similar type magnetic pieces http://lockdownmagnets.com/products.htm Discussion also took place
about where lock downs take place in buildings and the DCFS guidelines for
classrooms without locks on them, which creates difficulties for “hard lock
downs”.
- St. Peter Arlington Heights shared some of their
Protection Ministry forms and procedures, which were developed in conjunction
with Willow Creek Ministries. Samples of
these forms are being attached to these notes.
A discussion about “Crisis Management Flip Charts” which are used at St.
Peter also took place. These brightly
colored flip charts are displayed in all classrooms, offices, and any other
room throughout their building near their doorways. They cover their procedures for fires,
tornados, weapons, hostages, lockdowns, earthquakes, and bomb threats. They also include sample emergency reports,
checkpoint assignments, exit assignments and maps. For a sample of one of these plans, please
contact Julie Klopke
-Tour
of Christ the Rock Preschool, Rockford
-Half day 3’s and half day 4’s
-A Ministry of Christ the Rock Lutheran Church,
which has been in existence for 25 years
- Preschool Staff: Doreen Peters & Susan Harde
-We toured their classroom, which was
thematically decorated and filled with lots “bee”
projects, materials and decorations (see photos below)
- Encouraging comments were also made about the
many “little people” signs which are posted by the main
church/school sign, as well as the entrance to the building. They were very welcoming and inviting and
showed that the ministry cared about children.
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