Services. Child Development Center (CDC) Director s Corner. february 2013 Fort McCoy, WI Child, Youth & School. PAC Board Member Nominees

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1 february 2013 Fort McCoy, WI Child, Youth & School Services Child Development Center (CDC) Director s Corner Chelsey Smith Child Development Center Children six weeks through five years Building: 1796 Phone: Hours: 6:30 am - 5:15 pm School Age Center and Youth Center Children kindergarten through twelfth grade Building: 1751 Phone: Non-School Days Hours: 6:30 am - 5:30 pm School Day Hours: 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm parent central services Register and Re-Register children with CYSS and SKIES Building: 1668 Phone: Hours: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm PAC Board Member Nominees The members of the Parent Advisory Council Board serve as the liaison between the classroom and the Parent Advisory Council. All parents/guardians who have a child enrolled in a CYSS program are members of the Parent Advisory Council (PAC). Board members are available to bring issues, comments, suggestions, etc that affect the overall program to the PAC meetings. Parents/Guardians are encouraged to attend the PAC meetings but if you are unable to attend, the PAC Board representative will make sure your issue is included on the agenda prior to the meeting. You can also let your PAC Board representative know if you have a topic of special interest for a parent education class. Half of the PAC board members were nominated last year to serve on the board for a one year term and the other half to serve a two year term. As of January 2013, Sarah Morrow, Infant/Pre-Toddler representative, Jobi Spolum, Preschool/Hourly Care representative, and Scott Huber, SAC representative, completed their one year term. Mike Napsey, YC/MST representative has relocated with his Family so he will no longer be able to represent the YC/MST group. Thank you to Sarah, Jobi, Scott and Mike for being a part of this board and sharing other parents ideas and concerns! This year, the following parents have been nominated by the CYSS staff to serve on the PAC board. Jenny Chambers-infant/pre-toddler representative (Two Year Term) Matthew Wright-preschool representative (Two Year Term) Liane Haun-SAC representative (Two Year Term) Scott Huber-YC/MST representative and PAC Secretary (One Year Term) The following parents will continue to serve on the PAC board until January 2014: Colleen Reittinger-PAC Chairperson and Toddler representative Debbie Hawkins-Pre-Kindergarten representative CYSS129_13Jan13

2 Child Development Center (CDC) Director s Corner Continued We would like to introduce you to the new and continuing CYSS Parent Advisory Council Board Members! Jenny Chambers (2 yr. term) Infant & Pre-Toddler jenny.l.chambers3.ctr@mail.mil Colleen Reittinger (Board Chair) Toddler colleen.m.reittinger.civ@mail.mil Matt Wright (2 yr. term) Preschool & Hourly matthew.h.wright.mil@mail.mil Debbie Hawkins Strong Beginnings Pre-K deborah.a.hawkins28.naf@mail.mil Liane Haun (2 yr. term) SAS K-5 liane.r.haun.civ@mail.mil Scott Huber (1 yr. term) YC/MST scott.b.huber.civ@mail.mil Parent Participation Opportunities are posted on the parent board each month. If you are interested in participating in one of the opportunities, please speak to the point of contact listed next to it. Also, once you have 10 parent points and wish to redeem them, requests needs to be made prior to the first of the following month. (for example, if you would like to redeem your 10% for the March 1st billing, you would need to stop by the front desk and sign the parent participation redemption sheet by Feb. 28, 2013.) Reminder to all parents that vacation requests need to be submitted at least two weeks in advance. To get a vacation request form, please see the front desk. If you would like to know how many weeks you have left in your registration year for vacation, we are happy to let you know!

3 School age center/youth center Director s Corner Cori Yahnke February is here! January saw the end of the first semester for most of our students. We hope everyone had great report cards and worked up to their potential for the first half of the year! Now that second semester has started and it has gotten cold outside, the homework blues may start to set in. It s important to keep your student motivated and working hard to maintain and improve their grades throughout the spring semester. If your youth struggles doing homework and it causes battles at home, see if making a homework contract at the School Age Center will help them. We have many youth in our Power Hour homework room daily encourage your youth to try to complete some of their assignments while they are here. Praise and encourage them when they do complete homework before going home. Power Hour Second Semester Challenge We would like to reward students for making improvements in their grades between the end of the first semester and the end of the school year. Not every youth is going to be a straight A student, and we don t expect that of all of our youth. As teachers and parents, it is important to help our youth make realistic goals. Pressuring every youth to get all A s is unfair and may set them up for failure. We would like to focus on each individual youth making the effort to improve on his or her current grades. If your youth would like to participate in this Power Hour Challenge, please send a copy of their first semester report card to Cori at corissa.j.yahnke.naf@mail.mil or you can drop it off at the front desk. Youth will be encouraged to visit the Power Hour homework room to complete their assignments, study for tests, and work on enhancing their academic skills. For this to work, we will also need a copy of their progress report at the end of the 3rd quarter and of their final report card at the end of the school year. If you have any questions about this, please see Miss Cori or Miss Melissa. Did you know that auto-pay is an option at CYSS? If you do not want to have to remember to stop at the desk and pay your bill each month, you can sign up for auto-debit and your credit card will automatically be charged twice a month when billing is done. If you are interested in this payment feature, please see the front desk staff for more information! A few reminders to help with the accountability and safety of the youth. Please remember that there is no driving on the street in front of our Center. Please park in the lot and walk to the SAC/YC. Please sign your youth out on the clipboards every day. Please make sure your youth swipes their card to check out of CYMS daily. Please make sure your youth puts their magnet away by their card. Thank you for helping us keep track of all the youth in our Center! CHARACTER COUNTS! at CYSS! The six pillars of character are trustworthiness, responsibility, respect, fairness, caring, and citizenship. We discuss character and making good choices daily at the SAC/YC. Help build your youth s character by discussing and practicing these traits at home as well! Here are some quotes to get the conversation started. This month s focus is on caring about, respecting, and valuing yourself and what you have to offer. Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are. ~Malcolm S. Forbes Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid. ~Albert Einstein You are as amazing as you let yourself be. Let me repeat that. You are as amazing as you let yourself be. ~Elizabeth Alraune CHARACTER IS WHO YOU ARE WHEN NOBODY IS LOOKING - choose to be a person of good character! Like us on facebook! You can find us at McCoy CYSS, McCoy CYSS Teen, and McCoy CYSS Youth Tech Lab. Check these pages daily for updates and program information!

4 School age center/youth center Director s Corner Continued Does your youth struggle with self-esteem or seem to always put himself/ herself down? It is hard to watch youth fight with feeling good about themselves, but in our world of high expectations youth of all ages feel stress to succeed in everything they do. Both youth and adults forget that kids are kids and they will make mistakes, but that doesn t mean they are failures. In researching ways to help build self-esteem in youth, I came across an article entitled Words to Use with Your Kids Every Day at that I would like to share. Using these everyday phrases as parents and teachers can help instill confidence, selfrespect, and thoughtfulness in our youth. 1. Thank you. It's important to acknowledge your child's efforts to help you or others. You might say: "Thanks for helping me look for that missing sock" or "Thanks for setting the table; I got the salad made while you were doing that." 2. Tell me more. Words like these show your child that you are listening and that you would like to hear more about what's on her mind. "Tell me more" encourages conversation without passing judgment or giving immediate advice two responses that discourage further communication from your child. 3. You can do it. Your expression of confidence in your child's ability to do many things without your help is important. As your child grows older, there will be many times when your encouragement will mean the difference between his giving up on a challenging task or seeing it through. 4. How can I help? Let your child know you are willing and available to help her accomplish a particular task that may be difficult for her to manage on her own. You might say: "I think you can read that story by yourself now. Let me know if you need help with a new word." As your child takes on projects in school, encourage her to think of specific steps that are necessary to complete a project. You both can decide which tasks your child can handle on her own and which ones she'll need help with. 5. let's all pitch in. A child is never too young to learn that cooperation and team effort make many jobs easier and speedier and often more fun: "Let's all pitch in and finish raking the leaves so we can go in and bake cookies," or "Let's all pitch in and clean up the kitchen or we'll miss the movie." Family activities and group chores can develop into pleasant rituals that enrich a child's life and create fond memories. 6. how about a hug? Don't just tell your child you love him show him. Research indicates that young children deprived of physical touch and displays of affection often fail to thrive. As children grow older, they vary in the ways they like us to show affection. Some love to be cuddled, while others prefer a quick hug or pat on the shoulder. It's important to be aware of what your child enjoys most at a particular age. 7. please. After all these years, "please" is still a classic. When you ask a favor of anyone including children this "magic word" acknowledges that you are asking for a behavior that will help you and/or make you happy. (P.S.: Don't forget to say "thank you" when the job is done.) 8. good job! Good for you. Self-respect and self-confidence grow when your child's efforts and performance are rewarded. Whenever possible, give your child lots of praise. Be sure your praise is honest and specific. Focus on your child's efforts and progress, and help her identify her strengths. 9. it's time to... "It's time to get ready for bed," or "do homework," or "turn off the TV." Young children need structure in their daily lives to provide a measure of security in an often insecure world. It is up to you as a parent to establish and maintain a workable schedule of activities, always remembering that children benefit from regular mealtimes and bedtimes. 10. i love you. Everyone needs love and affection and a feeling of acceptance and belonging. We can't assume that children know and understand our love for them unless we tell them. Letting your child know that you love him (and showing him with countless hugs) is important not only in toddlerhood, but also as he gets older.

5 cys services parent & outreach services/ school support programs Becky Walley, Jenny Martin & Gloria Dutcher MilitaryKidsConnect.org The challenges faced by a child when a parent or caregiver deploys are unique to the military community. MilitaryKidsConnect.org is a Department of Defense (DoD)-sponsored website to help military kids support one another and learn coping and resilience-building skills. MilitaryKidsConnect.org recognizes that when parents deploy, kids deploy too. With MilitaryKidsConnect.org, you can help your children deal with the unique challenges they face when one of their loved ones deploys. MilitaryKidsConnect.org was developed by psychologists at the National Center for Telehealth & Technology, the DoD's primary agency for applying innovative technology to issues of psychological health and traumatic brain injury. Helping your kids connect MilitaryKidsConnect.org features customized content for three age groups: children, pre-teens, and teens. Your children are directed to an age-appropriate homepage where they can find: interactive maps a personal scrapbook application age-appropriate games videos of military kids describing how they cope with deployment instructional vignettes a virtual personal space kids navigate with a customizable avatar a moderated social networking message boards for pre-teens and teens (parent approval required for registration) Together, these features create a safe and comfortable place for young people everywhere, including those who live outside military installation communities, to share with their peers and learn how to handle the pressures of being a military kid. Parents and educators MilitaryKidsConnect.org also provides content for parents and educators of military kids. Here, you can find information about the site safeguards and parental controls, site content, and how you can use the content to encourage positive conversations about deployment with children. Information on common behavioral responses to deployment by age group and methods to cope with these behaviors is also included. To find out more, visit the parental section of MilitaryKidsConnect.org or get your child started today at the secure registration page. Continued on following page Spotlight on CYSS february Birthdays Eli K. Zachary L. Erica M. Ethan N. Nathaniel W. Kaitlyn S. Allison W. Madison Wyatt M. Luke Parker P. Mr. Dan Miss Michelle B. Miss Michelle P. Miss Angie Miss Kristin February Employee of the Month: Tierney Stark

6 IW2K!SCIENCE I WANT TO KNOW! Science, Engineering & Technology Camp Action TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING fun Food Science fast-paced ROBOTICS camp Do you like science, technology or engineering? Have you always wanted to know what makes things work? Would you like to do cool, hands-on experiments? If so, then I Want To Know! Camp is for you. APRIL 12-13, pm arrival 4 pm departure UPHAM WOODS 4-H CAMP Wisconsin Dells, WI Grades 6-8 $55 Includes meals, lodging, t-shirt, & supplies REGISTRATION DUE MAR 8 Space is LIMITED! Registrations will be taken on a first come basis with a waiting list if necessary. Sign up TODAY! Special financial circumstances will be handled on an individual basis. For more information, contact Joanna Skluzacek, UW-Extension 4-H STEM specialist at or Joanna.Skluzacek@ces.uwex.edu or visit SOMK (Speak Out for Military Kids) is a youth lead program designed to raise awareness of issues facing Guard, Reserve, and Active Duty military families. Plan to bring a CD of pictures, music or other items that could help tell your story. We ll provide the technology (laptop computers, digital cameras, etc.). Details: Cost: free, but registration is mandatory Who: youth grades 7-12 Transportation: on your own Where: Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center, Wisconsin Dells, WI When: March 8, 6pm March 10, 12pm Space is LIMITED Register TODAY! Registration deadline February 20, 2013 SOMK Retreat gives you the chance to: Develop military peer friendships with WI teens Build leadership skills Explore media and technology Have fun cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and sledding Share your story Practice communication skills Add something unique to your college or job resume Parents/Guardians are invited to attend a presentation of stories on Sunday, March 10th at 11am at Upham Woods. More information and registration at "An EEO/AA employer, University of Wisconsin Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX and ADA requirements.. Please make requests for reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to educational programs as early as possible preceding the scheduled program, service or activity."

7 parent education opportunities Earn a parent point by attending any of the CYSS, ACS or Family Resources workshops. All you have to do is bring in documentation from the session you attended. Call x8956 to register or for more information. off post activities Workshops are offered free of charge. Limited child care is provided for children who are independent walkers and older; younger children are welcome to join their parents. Child care is limited to the first 8 children registered. CEU s are not offered. Pre-registration is required 3 business days prior to the workshop. If you register and aren t able to attend, please call to cancel. Make & Take (Away the Stress) Tuesday, February 5 6-7:30 pm The Parenting Place, La Crosse Presented by: Patti Correll-Syring and Fran Swift (Parent Educators, The Parenting Place) Looking for new ways to help your child calm down, restore harmony and handle strong emotions? How about some ideas that might help parents do the same? Come experience the calmness-discover how to create handson items to help your Family manage stressful moments. Choose an item to make and take with you-directions for others. For more information or to register, call (608) Nurturing Parenting Wednesdays, February :00-11:30 am The Parenting Place, La Crosse Do you wish there was more harmony in your Family-more respect and more caring? Come and experience the magic of Nurturing Parenting. We ll practice many positive strategies and techniques for disciplining with dignity and enhancing empathy, self worth and personal empowerment. Watch the fun, closeness and enjoyment in your Family grow! For more information or to register call Kristy at (608) Positive Solutions For Families Mondays, February 18 - March 25 6:00-7:30 pm The Parenting Place, La Crosse Have you tried every discipline techniques in the book and still feel as though something is missing? Join us in learning why connect before correct is the key to enjoyable, effective parenting. This interactive series will help you strengthen the bond with your child while figuring out the meaning behind your child s challenging behaviors. Registration is required. For more information or to register, contact Patti at (608) Active Parenting Mondays, March 4 - March 25 6:00-7:30 pm The Parenting Place, Onalaska Through this program, parents will learn skills that will help develop cooperation, responsibility, and self-esteem in their children. They will also learn positive discipline techniques, natural and logical consequences, mutual respect and problem-solving skills. Open to parents who want to improve their parenting skills for lifelong learning and/or parents who are interested in receiving a required parenting class completion certificate. For more information or to register, contact Kristy at (608)

8 goodnight moon and the napping house STAFF: Miss Reenie, Miss Kim, Miss Sarah, Miss Judy, Miss Silvia, Miss Kristi & Mr. Greg Welcome to the month of love, Groundhog s Day, President s Day and the shortest month of the year. goodnight moon: Throughout the month of January, the children enjoyed reading the story, The Mitten. After playing outside, they practiced putting their mittens and hats back in their cubbies, during the theme Mittens and Hats. While reading the story Brown Bear, Brown Bear, they loved learning all about the colors and the sounds the animals make. february Themes: Shapes, The Color Red, Balls & Bubbles napping house: In January, the children enjoyed playing outside and practicing putting on their outside gear. Adding snow to the sensory table was a lot of cool fun. Waddling and marching like a penguin added a lot of laughs and giggles to everyone! Both rooms will be singing the fun song The Heart Shape. february Themes: The Color Pink, Valentine's Day, Hearts & The Color Red The Heart Shape Both rooms will be singing this fun song. The heart shape means I love you, I love you, I love you. The heart shape means I love you, Every day! Valentine's Day Fruit Smoothie A fun Family recipe to enjoy this month! Ingredients: 1 cup vanilla yogurt 1 cup apple juice ½ cup frozen strawberries ½ cup frozen blueberries Directions: 1. Pour all ingredients in a blender, in the listed order. 2. Blend on high until smooth. 3. Pour into glasses and enjoy! Continued on following page

9 goodnight moon and the napping house Continued Our focus this month is on early childhood literacy. Learning to read doesn t start in kindergarten or first grade. Developing language and literacy skills begins at birth through everyday loving interactions sharing books, telling stories, singing songs and talking to one another. Families play a very important role in preparing their children for future success in becoming confident and motivated learners. A range of resources on promoting early literacy and language skills at home can be found at: Some tips for choosing books are: For Babies 0-6 Months: Books with simple, large pictures or designs with bright colors. Stiff cardboard, "chunky" books, or fold out books. Cloth and soft vinyl books with simple pictures of people or familiar objects. For Babies 6-12 Months: Brightly colored board books to touch and taste! Books with photos of familiar objects like balls and bottles. Books with sturdy pages that can be propped up or spread out. Plastic/vinyl books for bath time. Washable cloth books to cuddle and mouth. Small plastic photo albums of Family and friends. For Young Toddlers Months: Sturdy board books that they can carry. Books with photos of children doing familiar things. Goodnight books for bed time. Books with only a few words on each page. Books with brightly colored, engaging illustrations. Books with simple rhymes or predictable text. Touch-and-feel books. Animal books of all sizes and shapes. Books that tell simple stories. Books about counting, the alphabet, shapes or sizes. Animal books, vehicle books, books about playtime. Books with humorous pictures and words. As we prepare to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss on Friday, March 2, we wanted to share some valuable tips on selecting books that are of interest to young children. Dr. Seuss wrote and illustrated nearly 50 books of children's verse during his lifetime. His books were famous for their funny rhymes and whimsical characters. Among his most famous titles are; The Cat in the Hat (1957), Green Eggs and Ham (1960), Horton Hears a Who (1954) and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (1960). Have a safe and wonderful month "full of love" from all of us!

10 the tiny seed and the kissing hand STAFF: Miss Meg, Miss Tierney, Miss Jessica, Miss Michelle, Miss Ashlie, Miss Shawn & Miss Kristin Last month, we read lots of books in honor of our Favorite Stories theme. The children really enjoyed reading all their favorite stories and extending the stories with activities, flannel boards and songs. In the Kissing Hand Classroom we did some letter stamping, worked on animal sounds and were even introduced to animal themes and various. In the Tiny Seed room the children enjoyed the snowy weather and practiced getting dressed for outdoors and did a color themed art project to go along with everyone s favorite book Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Thank you to all the Families that brought in books to share for our theme. Please feel free to bring in books to share anytime, we all love new stories! February Kissing Hand Themes: Shapes and Colors & Pets Families are invited to bring in a photo of Family pets to share with the classroom and add to our classroom environment. We will also be having some fun with colors and will be asking the children to dress in a theme color each day of the week. We will send out a reminder and list of theme colors in February. You can help us teach your toddler shapes and colors at home while we work on them here at the center. Here are some easy fun ways to help your child learn their colors and shapes: Point out colors and shapes both indoors and outdoors. Use blocks and other toys to build shapes Use cooking projects with food coloring to explore and mix colors Bake cookies in various shapes Mix up a fruit salad and talk about the colors If you would like other suggestions or a copy of the songs and finger plays we are using during the Colors and Shapes theme please see your child s classroom teachers. February Tiny Seed Themes: Shapes and Colors & Grocery Store If anyone has empty boxes or clean empty food containers we could use for our Grocery Store unit, please bring them in. We would like to have a variety of props for dramatic play.

11 growing colors and very hungry caterpillar growing colors Staff: Miss Ashley, Mr. Mike, Miss Heather & Miss Drew very hungry caterpillar Staff: Miss Megan, Miss Jessica & Miss Misti February is Here! We are enjoying the weather outside! The children were so excited to go outside and enjoy the snowfall on the playground. January was a very busy month as the children in both Growing Colors and The Very Hungry Caterpillar room enjoyed learning about winter clothing. The children made mitten prints on paper; painted on bubble wrap, and traced their hands to look like mittens. They played dress up in the dramatic play area putting on hats, mittens, sweatshirts, coats, and boots. They also practiced putting on all their winter clothing when we went outside to play in the snow. When children practice putting on or explore the ideas of winter clothing they are: learning about body parts, how to use descriptive terms for the clothing in which they are manipulating, using their fine-motor and basic gross motor skills, developing their cognitive thinking, social skills, problem solving skills and much more. Families are encouraged to practice putting on and off winter clothing at home to help further expand these developmental areas! Friendly Reminders Please ensure that you are signing your children in and out on the daily attendance sheet. We utilize these sheets to help stay accountable for your children as well as ensure their safety throughout the day. We will be closed Monday, February 18, 2013, in celebration of Presidents Day. Welcome our New Friends! Please welcome Courtland and Jeremiah to the Very Hungry Caterpillar room! February Themes VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR: Dental (Two Weeks), Mail Carriers, Numbers & Hearts February is very exciting because we will be exploring dentistry! We will talk to the children about why it s important to clean our teeth. In addition to brushing our own teeth, we also will be practicing brushing fake teeth! But, what would a month be like without the extra fun stuff like singing about how to brush our teeth, painting with toothbrushes, and even making our own toothpaste! Brushing Teeth (Tune: "Mulberry Bush ) The children can practice singing this when brushing their teeth. This is the way we brush our teeth, Brush our teeth, brush our teeth. This is the way we brush our teeth, So early in the morning. clean Teeth (Tune: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat ) Brush, brush, brush, your teeth Brush them every day. We put some toothpaste on our brush To help stop tooth decay. The Color Red During The Color Red week, we ll be exploring the color wheel, counting and identifying objects in our world that are red. These experiences provided will help the children become aware of colors that are formed when mixed with red. If you are ever interested in ways that you as Families could expand the curriculum from the classroom to the home, please do not hesitate to ask! GROWING COLORS: Numbers and Counting, Dental, The Color Red & Dr. Suess

12 brown bear, brown bear Staff: Miss Julie, Miss Lisa & Miss Shelley Fantastic February to all! Hope everyone is enjoying good health and surviving the cold weather. Last month the Brown Bear friends learned about all types of jungle animals and we drew our favorites. We really have some great artists in our classroom! We also enjoyed several books written by the children s author Mercer Mayer. In the dramatic play area, we role-played various books such as There s a Nightmare in My Closet, There s Something in the Attic, and There s an Alligator Under My Bed. Last month we also sadly said goodbye to Miss Michelle who is now working in the Tiny Seed classroom. Miss Shelley has joined us and is very excited about working with your children! We also welcomed two new children into our room, Rylee and Breanna. February Themes Feb 4-8: Community Helpers Feb 11-15: Valentines / Healthy Habits Feb 18-22: Crazy Daze Feb 25 - March 1: Dr. Seuss If you would like to send Valentines for the friends in our classroom during the Valentines theme, please write who it is from as it helps us to distribute them. There are now 21 children in the classroom for the children to share with. The children will get a chance to look at their cards during Thursday s Primary group time and take their bags home Thursday night. If you are bringing treats for this special occasion, please coordinate with one of the teachers. Please have your cards here by Wednesday if you wish to participate. If there is any parent that would like to come and talk to the children about their specific job during the Community Helpers theme, please let us know. We will be discussing various helpers that make up our community and the children love to have visitors come and share with them! Here are a few community helper songs we will be learning this month. I ve Been Workin on the Railroad I've been workin on the railroad All the livelong day. I ve been workin on the railroad Just to pass the time away. Don t you hear the whistle blowing? Rise up so early in the morn, Don t you hear the Captain shouting: Dinah, blow your horn. Community Helper Song (Tune: Farmer in the Dell): The doctor makes us well. The doctor makes us well. Hey! Ho! What do you know? The doctor makes us well. Continue with other verses, The farmer sows the field The chef cooks the food The mailman brings the mail The firefighter puts out fires Reminders Please be sure to replenish your child s extra clothing supply-especially socks. Even though we are wearing boots outside, sometimes socks still get wet. Also, it is very important that parents are signing their child in and out each day. (Please allow for extra time to help your child wash their hands and become settled into the classroom.) Thank you for your assistance. Have a great month!

13 strong beginnings pre-k Staff: Miss Tadisch & Miss Jana January was a busy month in the Strong Beginnings program. Our theme for the first three weeks was Jan Brett. The children had a wonderful time making predictions, retelling, and completing activities for favorites such as The Hat, The Mitten, Hedgie Blasts Off, and The Three Polar Bears. Everybody loves dinosaurs, so it was the perfect theme to end January with. The children were busy measuring with dinosaurs, sorting, categorizing, counting syllables, and helping me pronounce those tricky dinosaur names! We ended with an explosion a volcano explosion! There were lots of excited faces and great questions as we ended our Dinosaur theme with a homemade volcano. We re very sad to say goodbye to Mr. Mike but excited to welcome Miss Jana to our classroom. Miss Jana is excited to start working in the Strong Beginnings room and has some great ideas for art and music projects! Please take a moment to say hello and introduce yourself. Thank you to all of the Families that continue to review sight words, work on homework sheets, reinforce Above the Line Behaviors, and discuss activity sheets with your child. These extra efforts make a big difference in your child s success here at school and set a good pattern for next year in Kindergarten. Teaching Strategies Gold has some wonderful ideas for low/no cost activities to do at home that reinforce some of the skills that we ve been working on. We have officially finished our Math and Literacy Assessments! The goal for the remainder of the year is to continue to build on the skills introduced in those assessments and begin retesting if necessary. If you would like to see how your child is doing with their assessments, please see Miss Tadisch. Just a few reminders Please make sure your child is washing his/her hands upon arrival. We have been teaching the children to sing the ABC s while washing to make sure all of those germs go down the drain! Please bring in a toothbrush in February as it is time to change them out. We have noticed that many children do not have an extra set of clothes here at the CDC. Although we have some extras, the supply is limited. Please make sure your child has a full set of weather appropriate extras as back-up. Consider signing up for one of the Top Three Ways to Help. Some of the activities can be used to earn parent points and many others require just a few minutes to complete. Thanks! February Themes Nursery Rhymes, Fairy Tales and Fables February Study Starter Trash and Garbage February Character Counts Fairness February Sight Words RED KID AND VERY *A fun way to practice reading these words would be to set up a simple graph with all of the sight words listed. When your child finds a sight word during daily reading time, put a sticker next to it on the graph. You can incorporate some math skills by looking at the end of the month to see which sight word he/she found most often.

14 school age center Staff: Miss Andrea, Miss Gabby, Miss Melissa, Miss Steph & Mr. Dan We started the month off right...with a pajama New Year's Eve bash! The youth kept busy with different projects throughout the day. The younger group made party decorations, while the older group made noise makers and wrote down their New Years resolution. A few of the resolutions include: Read at least three chapters of my book a day. Help my teacher and my mom. Read all of my books by the end of the year. Indoor Activities Due to the weather being a little colder this month the youth are required to stay indoors, which leaves more time for fun indoor activities. The Discovery group was excited to make Play-Doh as one of their Kids Choice lessons. They made the Play-Doh as a group and spent their free time making a variety of creations. The Adventure group has stayed busy with sign language club and art club. Ms. Andrea and the group have been practicing sign language and also learning how to draw during art club. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service To honor Martin Luther King Jr. here at the School Age Center we held a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. The youth had the opportunity to create birdhouses, decorate cards for soldiers, decorate jars for Bottles of Hope and colored t-shirts. The youth built and painted the birdhouses that will find a home in the community. Bottles of Hope is an organization that gives decorated bottles to cancer patients. If you would like to read a little bit more about Bottles of Hope please visit the site: The youth colored and wrote in cards to mail to soldiers overseas, to show them how much we appreciate them. Lastly the group decorated t-shirts for the Veterans Assistance Foundation. The youth really enjoyed participating in different activities that will help others and make them feel appreciate and cared for. Important Days at SAC in February: Feb 13: Tomah Early Release Feb 15: No School Sparta Feb 18: SAC Closed for President's Day Feb 20: Sparta Early Release Star Students Star Students is a recognition board in the front hallway to highlight youth who have shown good character at CYSS! Here is a list of our most recent winners! Check out the board and congratulate these youth when you see their smiling faces. CHARACTER COUNTS! at the School Age and Youth Center! Most Fair - Markell K. Most Respectful - Cienna F. Best Citizenship - Christopher W. Most Trustworthy - Houston P. Most Responsible - Ezequiel R. Most Caring - Kira M. Most Scholarly - Cody M. Best Bus Rider - Phoenix B. Keep up the great work Star Students! Spread the word! Invite your eligible friends to join us in the after school program!

15 middle school/teens Staff: Mister Dustin, Miss Cori & Miss Andrea Remember! The After School Program is free after school for youth in 6th - 12th grades. Don t sit around the house with nothing to do on non-school days either we are open from 6:30 am - 5:30 pm on those days! For only $16 a day you can come all day on non-school days. So if you want somewhere to go to unwind after school or get help with your homework this is the place to be! Service to the community continued in the month of January. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Youth and School Age Centers hosted a day of service event on January 25. The service project for the Youth Center was assembling and painting birdhouses and feeders to be donated to the local communities. Thank you to all the youth and MSG Fitzgibbons for their help in making this event a huge success! Kick Butts Day is March 20! The Fort McCoy Youth Program will be leading a carnival for all to enjoy! Learn about saying no to tobacco products and have tons of fun at the same time! Come join us at the Youth Center to get involved in the event and share your ideas. More details are coming soon, but mark your calendars for the Kick Butts Day Carnival on the afternoon of March 20. Speak Out For Military Kids Speak Our for Military Kids is a youth lead program designed to raise awareness of issues facing military Families. Participants will spend the weekend of March 8 at Upham Woods in Wisconsin Dells building leadership skills, exploring technology and sledding. This camp is FREE for 7-12 grade youth, but registration is required. Find more information and registration at * This is not a CYSS event so we will not be providing transportation, but if you have questions about the event we are more than happy to help! Your opinion matters! Please help us decide when to hold our next Youth Fun Night and which event you would enjoy the most. Youth fun nights are held after normal hours and are a chance for middle school teens to enjoy the center and surrounding area. LIKE us on facebook! Search for McCoyCYSSTeen and McCoyCYSS to see new events and opportunities going on in the Youth Center!

16 menu Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Feb 4 Feb 5 Feb 6 Feb 7 Feb 8 Waffles Cantaloupe Banana Muffins Applesauce Cream of Rice Oranges Pancakes Mixed Berries Cold Cereal Bananas Beefaroni w/ Kidney Beans Coleslaw Bread Egg Salad Sandwich Grilled Cheese (Inf/PT) Hashbrowns Pineapple Chicken Ala King Rice Snow Peas Melon Balls Pork Chops Mashed Potatoes w/ Gravy Green Beans Rolls Baked Cod Corn Tator Tots Wheat Crackers English Muffins w/ Jam Goldfish Crackers Melon Balls Orange Juice Tortillas w/ Peanut Butter Peaches Cornbread Rice Cakes Feb 11 Feb 12 Feb 13 Feb 14 Feb 15 Toast w/ Jelly Pears Waffles Apples/ Applesauce (Inf/PT) Cold Cereal Bananas Oatmeal Melon Pancakes Blueberries Baked Ham Scalloped Potatoes Snowpeas Roll Tuna Casserole Carrots Kiwi Crackers Baked Chicken Broccoli & Cheese Rice Grapes/Pears (Inf/PT) Beef Stroganoff w/ Noodles Peas Mandarin Oranges Rueben Sandwich Boiled Potatoes Green Beans Berry Yogurt Bread Sticks Jello w/mixed Fruit Italian Bread Sticks w/ Marinara Sauce Apple Crisp (Preschool Project) Apple Wedges/ Applesauce (Inf/PT) Animal Crackers Nutritional requirements state that menus must have the following components: Breakfast: Bread or Cereal Fruit/Vegetable Lunch: Meat/Alternative Vegetable/Fruit - Serve 2 or more Bread/Alternative Other Foods Snack:, Fruit, Vegetable Bread/Alternative or Meat/Alternative Serve any 2 Menus with additional components listed serve as possible substitutions. Fort McCoy DFMWR Child, Youth & School Services 1796 South F Street Fort McCoy, WI

17 menu Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Feb 18 Feb 19 Feb 20 Feb 21 Feb 22 Malt-O-Meal Peaches Muffins Oranges Oatmeal Bananas Cold Cereal Apples/ Applesauce (Inf/PT) CLOSED FOR PRESIDENTS DAY BBQ Chicken Noodles Italian Veggies Tropical Fruit Corned Beef Mashed Potatoes Cole Slaw Rolls Spaghetti w/ Marinara Sauce Corn Melon Cup Fish Sticks Potato Wedges Carrots Crackers Celery Sticks w/peanut Butter & Raisins Cheese & Crackers (Inf/PT) Juice Nutri-Grain Bars Bread Sticks w/ Cinnamon & Sugar Teddy Grahams Feb 25 Feb 26 Feb 27 Feb 28 Mar 1 Cinnamon Bagels Applesauce French Toast Cantaloupe Oatmeal Apricots Juice Banana Bran Muffins Cold Cereal Oranges Baked Ham Pineapple Casserole Asparagus Crackers Pizza Patty Spinach Salad Corn Rolls Fish Sticks Hashbrowns Pea Salad Rolls Chicken Rice Soup w/ Veggies Oyster Crackers Kiwi Macaroni & Cheese Green Beans Apples/ Applesauce (Inf/PT) Craisin Cookies Yogurt Bread Sticks Peanut Butter & Crackers Cheese Sticks Goldfish Crackers Mini Cinnamon/ Raisin Bagels Nutritional requirements state that menus must have the following components: Breakfast: Bread or Cereal Fruit/Vegetable Lunch: Meat/Alternative Vegetable/Fruit - Serve 2 or more Bread/Alternative Other Foods Snack:, Fruit, Vegetable Bread/Alternative or Meat/Alternative Serve any 2 Menus with additional components listed serve as possible substitutions. Fort McCoy DFMWR Child, Youth & School Services 1796 South F Street Fort McCoy, WI