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Happy New year to all! The beginning of the school year seems to have flown by this year. The biggest

indicator of how much time has passed is the growth and learning that we see in the children.

Physically, when it was time to switch out the fall “extra” clothes with ones for the winter, most

children were already barely able to fit into their previous attire. And in terms of their development,

our assessments have shown that they are well on their way to mastering the skills they need to move

onto the next phase of learning. It will be so much fun to watch as they master their next challenges

in the months to come. In addition to all the wonderful things happening in the classrooms, the Center

in general has been very busy with our preparations for the next phase of our own development as we

prepare to apply for the next level on the state’s Quality rating Scale (QRIS). Read on to learn the

latest news and about what lies ahead.

WHAT’S HAPPENING:

QRIS Update: The Center continues to make quality

improvements according to the state’s voluntary  QualityRating Improvement S ystem (QRIS). The teachers areengaged in more training to meet the new guidelines. Also,several of our classrooms were observed by our QRISconsultant and rated using the Environmental Rating Scale.All of our classrooms have now been observed☺ In generalthe classrooms received high marks for their curriculum,interactions, room environments, and communications. Thisspeaks highly of all of their hard work and dedication tothe children and the center. We still need to makeimprovements on our playground and adjustments to someof our routines. I also need to continue with individualteacher observations and ratings that they require as wellas organization of the data for their review. This will beour focus in the months to come. To learn more about theEnvironmental Rating Scales and the state’s voluntaryQuality Rating Improvement System, go here:http://www.isbe.state.il.us/earlychi/pdf/ecers_presentation.pdf and here: http://www.mass.gov/edu/birth-grade-12/early-education-and-care/provider-and-program-administration/quality-rating-and-improvement-system-qris.html 

No improvements would be complete without input from

 you! As part of the QRIS we need your help! Pleasecomplete and return the attached survey so we candetermine which improvements you would like to seehappening at TWYLC. Thanks for your support.

The Wonder Years is now on PATCH!: Competition istough these days! We are still working on our marketing toget the word out about the quality programs we offer forchildren. As I mentioned in the Fall Newsletter,recommendations from parents are our #1 marketing tool.Both word-of-mouth and your great reviews on the internetare the most often-cited reasons for new families to comefor a tour of our school. We have a new format for postingreviews: we now have a page on the Wilmington Patch! Iwould love to increase our presence on this site as it is awonderful local resource for families. Also, they have a“Best of” feature where you can vote for the best childcare in Wilmington and I would LOVE that to be TheWonder Years! Your votes and reviews will all help usachieve that goal. Please post a review on PATCH this weekto help us towards this goal, Thanks!

JANUARY 2013

WINTER EDITION

THE WONDER YEARS LEARNING CENTER148 LOWELL STREET WILMINGTON, MA 01887 

978.658.8282 www.thewondeyears.info

From the Director’s Desk

7/30/2019 WYLC 2013.01 Winter Newsletter

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 WHAT’S HAPPENING (continued)

Playground Fundraiser Update: We want to thank all of you whoparticipated in this year’s playground fundraiser by purchasing theKidStuff Coupon Books. We earned $1075 for our playgroundthrough your efforts so it was a great success! Playgrounds are

especially costly to upgrade. There are new federal guidelines thathave been put into place that the state will now follow and theserequire changes to our surfacing and fall zones. We also want toadd some shade structures. Between required changes and thingswe would love to add, we could easily spend $20,000 right now justfor the basics!

Class Composites: “Where are the class composites” you ask? I just received notice that they have been shipped! We will keep youposted. The Wonder Years Learning Center Facebook Update: We havenot made as much progress towards updating our Facebook page aswe wanted this past fall, but this is still on our agenda. We havehad many more “likes” to our page so I feel we are moving forward.If you have not done so yet, find “The Wonder Years LearningCenter” page and ‘like” us to keep your finger on the pulse of what’shappening at TWY. Also, send us any suggestions for the content

 you would like us to include as we continue with our page upgrade.

The Wonder Kids Parent Group Update: Our parent groupwelcomed new members and has been meeting each month. Theyhave planned a busy schedule again this year. They hosted a winterclothing swap during our Open House in October and organized asuccessful Winter Coat drive in collaboration with Anton’s Cleanersin December. Twenty-five coats were donated. This month they arehosting “Dining for a Cause” at the 99 Restaurant for their firstfundraising event. You can dine in or out and 15% of the proceedswill go towards the Parent Group. Next month, on February 12th,they will host Wiggles & Giggles as an enrichment program for thechildren. Please find the NEW parent Bulletin Board across fromLinda’s office to see what other events are scheduled throughoutthe winter and spring. Also, watch your email and see postersaround the Center for more information on Parent Group activities

Snow Day Alerts: You can now receive alerts on your cell phonewhenever there is an event that affects our opening or closing. Goto http://whdhstore.hipcricket.com/?smenu=1 to sign up. You canalso go to our Facebook page or call our office at 978.658.8282EX:10 to learn about school closures.

S

Many of you have asked about our security in light of last month’s Newtown tragedy. We are in the process of adding new elements to ouremergency procedures to increase the safety of our children and staff. At our staff meeting this month, we actively worked on developing‘Lockdown” procedures which are sensitive to the children’s needs while still being effective in case of an emergency. We have come up with apreliminary plan. This will be discussed with the town Safety Officer to fine-tune the details. We also will be meeting with a representativefrom the Wilmington Public Schools to learn about their procedures and implement any that seem to be applicable to our setting. We will keep

 you informed of our final plan. We also will be changing our door codes by the end of the month. These will be distributed through your child’sclassroom so be looking for those soon. We will add another element of safety by keeping our playground doors locked when we are not playingoutside.

We have determined one area of safety that needs to be improved and for this we need YOUR help. OPENING OUR FRONT DOOR TOSTRANGERS DURING DROP-OFF AND PICK-UP IS A PROBLEM AREA. The Wonder Years staff always cards anyone who we do not knowprior to them entering the building or in the classroom (if they get that far). However during the busy times of the day it is easy to just allowsomeone to walk in behind you or open the door for someone who “forgot” the code. Be aware that it is not unusual to have families here withactive restraining orders. Custody battles also occur. Between these factors and all that is happening in the world today, we need to be morecautious about who enters the building. Please ask questions to people you don’t know prior to leaving them in the door (I don’t know you. Who is

 your classroom teacher? Which classroom are you going to?) Follow up with someone on the staff if someone gets in that you don’t know. Also,keep us informed if you think someone YOU know might pose a threat to the center in some way. Speak with the Director about this promptly soa plan can be put into place to help avoid any issues.

We welcome your input during our review process. Please feel free to join our conversation about the safety of our school by speaking with oneof us, emailing us, or dropping us a note in our tuition/suggestion box outside of my office. Safety is our number one priority here and weappreciate your suggestions.

"For the child... it is not half so important to know as tofeel. If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledgeand wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow.... It is more important to pave the way for a child to want to know than to put him on a diet of facts that he is not ready to assimilate." 

-Rachel Carson