Dear Families,
I hope that you are all doing well during what will surely be an interesting fall and winter. I want to thank you all for your continued support and patience as we continue to work through changes and adaptations to our operating procedures.
A few noteworthy items to share:
- I have submitted a new illness policy to the Medical Advisory Group at the University for review and approval. We recently received updated guidance from the Department of Human Services (our regulatory agency) and I wanted to make sure that our new procedures were in line with what the University requires and expects. I hope to have the policy back soon and will share it ASAP so that there is clear guidance on illness, exclusion and return policies. It is a lot to navigate, as most individual situations can be quite different. My hope is that the policy and guidelines will be clear and easy to understand and follow.
- We have hired a new Business Manager to replace Marlene (who is enjoying retirement!!). Melissa Barr will join the UCDC family on November 9th. Once she is settled in and completes training, we will begin to offer payroll deduction again. Many families have inquired about that option and we will move forward with offering it again.
- Many families have asked about our calendar and operational schedule. Per the Universityās calendar, we will be closed on November 26, 27 and 30th.
- With the holiday season fast approaching please keep in mind that per our philosophy and curricular approach, we will not be celebrating holidays in traditional ways. We will explore the seasons, take advantage of discussing culture and tradition, but we will not have any parties, dress up for Halloween, or do traditional project art or teacher directed activities.
In lieu of the traditional Directorās letter to families, we are going to do something a little bit different. We plan to interview UCDC staff so that you can learn a little bit more about our work and our lives outside of UCDC. We recognize the personal interactions that we are used to with parents/guardians aren't the same since you are all unable to come into our building and we wanted to add a little personal back in! We hope you enjoy this temporary change.
First up - Mary Beth McCulloch interviewed by Jamie Wincovitch
Where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and I have lived in West Mifflin my entire life. I still live in under one mile of my childhood home and also within one mile of all three of my siblings. I can walk to my sisterās house to visit and often spend time watching football with her, cooking and chatting on her porch with her neighbors.
Where did you go to school and what was your major and first job?
I graduated with a degree in Early Childhood Education from Point Park College. My first job in child care was at a senior citizens center in Homestead that also had a small child care center. After that, I was hired at Point Park Childrenās School while attending school there, and worked there for many years as a toddler and preschool teacher and as the Director of their satellite center at the School for Blind Children in Oakland.
When you are not at work, what do you enjoy doing?
I like to cook and bake. We have a lot of favorite family recipes that we try to replicate. My sisters and I each have our specialties that my nieces and nephews expect to have at our family dinners. I am in charge of Grandmaās famous breaded chicken, my sister makes stuffed cabbage and mashed potatoes, and my other sister is in charge of cole slaw and potato salad. These recipes are all made the way my mom did for the holidays. I also make an interesting soup that my mom made. It is a version of Slovak green bean soup with sour cream, vinegar and vegetables. It is a family favorite! I still donāt have the recipe exactly like my momās but close enough that a big pot gets shared and enjoyed by my entire family.
I also like to read, do crossword puzzles, listen to all types of music, and fish! My family has had a cottage in Slippery Rock for over 65 years and we do a lot of outdoor activities when we are there, including fishing at Moraine State Park or along the Slippery Rock Creek. It is one of my favorite places to go to spend time with my family and friends that we grew up with. We now have four generations that love the cottage, including my great nephew Beau. He will be two in January and loves running around the yard and collecting twigs, leaves and rocks.
What is a favorite childhood memory?
This is hard to answer, as I have so many. I think that it would have to be when all of my extended family would visit from out of stare during the holidays and in the summer. Everyone always stayed at our house and it was filled with laughter, funny stories, good food and a lot of love.
I also grew up with my best friend living across the street from me and we have been best friends for 50 years. Anything about our childhood growing up is a āfavorite memory.ā
What is your favorite thing about working at UCDC?
I have been working at UCDC for almost 29 years (!!) and I most enjoy talking to the children. I love chatting with them and hearing what they have to say about all sorts of things. It makes me so happy to connect with them and always puts a smile on my face. I love to be silly with the children and say things that make them laugh.
I also love the fact that even though I have been here for so long, I am still amazed every day by the childrenās capacity to learn and grow. Even our youngest children have the infinite capacity to make connections, remember, and put their knowledge into action.
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Curriculum in the Classroom: Preschool Four |
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Preschool 4 has been very interested in color mixing and color making these days. It all started when one child became fascinated with the color of the rinse water from his watercolor brush. In many schools, this might have been redirected back to the teacher-planned activity of watercolor painting. Here at UCDC, we believe in following the childās interests, for this is where much real learning takes place. This child was allowed to move to the sink where he created lots of different colors by ārinsingā the paints. And as so often happens in preschool, lots of other children wanted to mix and create colors too.
The next couple of weeks we prepared lots of different art experiences with color mixing and creating in mind to extend the childrenās learning. We mixed colored water together using pipettes like scientists. We mixed colors on different surfaces from paper to fabric, to coffee filters and even cotton balls. We mixed finger paints with all sorts of tools to create our favorite colors. We even explored skin tone paints and encouraged the children to find their unique color by mixing the shades. In all of this hands on playful learning, not only did real knowledge about colors occur but the children also developed problem solving, curiosity, intentionality, flexibility and confidence.
When children have time to explore, investigate, and experiment like this, they figure things out for themselves and in turn, grasp a deeper understanding. They learned to take risks, make connections, daydream, look at things closely, notice details and see the big picture. These are all important life skills. When children have the freedom to follow their ideas, they become lovers of learning! No wonder these kids sleep on most school days at rest time while at UCDC!
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Preschool Wisdoms
Preschool 4 ponders the question: What's the best thing you learned in preschool lately?
- Learning how to do the bug puzzle. - Wolf
- I love the books! - Harriet
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I love to read the book, Can I Play Too! - Gabriel
- The best thing for me is to draw. - Vivienne
- The best thing I learned is how to shoot a catapult. - Avi
- I like to make art! - Claire
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There has been so many changes to UCDC since we closed down in March and a lot of our teachers have taken on new roles and responsibilities. This obstacle (the virus) has caused us to mix up teams in ways that we have never done before but the opportunity (the changes) gained has helped us to learn so much about different age groups and each other. Here's a quick update of who we are now.
- Toddler One is now comprised of Tiffany Robinson (I2), LaToya Bundy and Nikki Miller
- Toddler Two is led by Anissa Johnson, Abby Magee (I2) and Cindy Peck (I4)
- Toddler Three is now the Part Time Preschool Classroom on MWF and is run by Connie Kimmel and Kathy Slater. On T/Th is is a Part Time Toddler Classroom with Debbie Higgs and TaJa McCray (I1)
- Toddler Four has the same team of Christina Fink, Sam Baird and Mae Mae Lee
- Preschool One includes the teachers Elise Anderson (I1), Cheryl Petro and Kala McCauley
- Preschool Two's team is Amber Ricker, Becky Bujak (I3) and Emily Daller
- Preschool Three is led by Tressie Lesnoski (I4), Corrie Anderson and Julie Brennan
- The office support is Mary Beth McCulloch, Jamie Wincovitch, Ammie Ribarchak (P1), Shelley Martin (I3), Jennifer Sneddon and Jocelyn Myers.
- The Building Support Team is comprised of Karol Bright (I3), Brenda Davis (I1), Nicole Fosdick (sub), Jamie Kim (sub), Marcela Luna (I2), Sarah Neidermeyer (sub).
As you can see there have been MANY team changes!
We've also had to create a whole new team (Building Support) that you interact with every single day. These teachers are the ones that greet your child each morning and help them to start their day on a positive note as well as return them to you at the end of each day. They also do MANY other things in our building that does not go unnoticed including preparing snack for the whole center, doing all of the laundry (each classroom has to have all of their bedding laundered twice a week!), attend to any classroom needs, run the children to and from their classrooms at the beginning and the end of every day, sort and serve lunches, do all of the laminating for the classrooms (which is so much more because of COVID!), continue to complete weekly online professional development opportunities, attend weekly team meetings, and so much more! They are indispensable!
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Diversity, Inclusion and Equity
Our Committee for Diversity, Inclusion and Equity is promoting the new School of Educationās Office of Child Development podcast, ā In My Skin : A P.R.I.D.E. Podcastā (season two). According to the website:
āIn Season 2, we are asking an important question: How does implicit bias affect children? We examine what implicit bias is, why it leads to children being punished more in school, how it impacts the valuing of home language, and what we can do to counteract it.ā
We are looking forward to a group of our UCDC colleagues listening to episodes each week and then coming together for discussion surrounding this very important topic. You can also access the podcast at the web address above or download it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you access your podcasts.
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UCDC utilizes a child centered, extended family approach that is fostered by supporting the developmental needs of all children. We foster children's self esteem, creative abilities, sense of belonging and success by implementing a developmentally appropriate curriculum based on NAEYC and Keystone STARS standards, through a play-based approach to learning. We support families and partner with them to provide an environment that welcomes their collaboration and supports both cultural and family preferences. |
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