| Smart Start
On-Line
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Spread the word and help us get 100 fans on Facebook. Fan number 100 will get a special prize!
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| JOIN OUR LIST |  |
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Meet a Board Member | |
Name: Lauren Schultz
Position: Fall 2011 Communications Intern
Educational Background: Avon High School 2008, Penn State University anticipated graduation 2012: Public Relations major and International Studies Minor
Why did you get involved with Smart Start? I eventually want to hold a position in event planning and, I originally wanted to be a elementary education teacher. Working as a communications intern helping to promote education and wellness in young children in my community was a perfect opportunity to further my educational career and personal goals.
Favorite Smart Start Projects: I have really enjoyed the For the Children articles; having the opportunity for parents to submit questions is a great resource and I have enjoyed helping to answer these questions.
What are your goals for Smart Start in the future? In the future, I hope to have connections with Smart Start. I believe the organization is very helpful to schools, teachers, professionals, parents, and children in the surrounding areas, and I hope that I can either contribute monetarily or personally to helping their growth and projects.
Where you live: Currently I live in State College during the school year. Otherwise, I live in Avon, CT.
Family information: I live with my mother, step father, and younger brother (17). I also have a large extended family including step and half siblings and love that I have a huge and caring family that always supports me.
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| Smart Start Is ... | |
Smart Start-Centre County is a network of early care and education professionals, parents, and community leaders committed to giving children in Centre County the best possible start in life through education, information, activities, and outreach.
Staff and Interns
Eileen Wise, Executive Director
Kelly Johnson, Project Manager
Lauren Schultz, Intern
Ari Morris, Intern
Action Committees
Early Care & Education
Early Childhood Mental Health
Health & Nutrition
Parenting & Literacy
Transition Team
Board of Directors
Charlene Friedman, Chair
Rebecca Ardoline, Secretary
Sudha Babu
Patricia Best, Vice Chair
Melissa Clark
Doug Coatsworth, Vice Chair
Linda Duerr
J. Hugh Dwyer
D. Richard Francke
Rob Huffard
Denny Nau
Roxie Nestlerode
Jack Raykovitz, Vice Chair
Joseph Webber | |
| Resources | |
Parenting Counts.org's Developmental Timeline is a great online tool with videos, details, and more for children's development from birth to age 5.
Learning is Everywhere - online monthly activity calendar
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| State Legislators | |
State Representatives
Kerry Benninghoff
Boroughs and Townships served: Bellefonte, Centre Hall, College, Gregg, Harris, Millheim, Penn, Potter, Spring, State College, Walker kbenning@pahousegop.com, 355-1300
H. Scott Conklin: Boroughs and Townships served: Ferguson, Halfmoon, Huston, Patton, Philipsburg, Port Matilda, Rush, South Philipsburg, State College, Taylor, Worth 238-5477/ 342-4872
Michael Hanna: Boroughs and Townships served: Benner, Boggs, Burnside, Curtin, Haines, Howard, Liberty, Marion, Miles, Milesburg, Snow Shoe, Union, Unionville 353-8780
State Senators
John Wozniak: Boroughs and Townships served: Philipsburg, Rush, South Philipsburg 266-2277
Jake Corman: Boroughs and Townships served: all other than Philipsburg, Rush, South Philipsburg 355-0477 | |
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| Committee On-line Reporting Forms | |
In-Kind/Volunteer Time:Report your volunteer time spent on Smart Start projects and committees. Transition Activities:Report any meetings, activities, publications, etc. with a goal of making connections for improved transition to kindergarten. |
| Disclaimer | |
Acceptance of advertising, announcements, and postings does not represent Smart Start's endorsement of any product, program, or service, nor is Smart Start responsible for representations made by others. | |
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Dear Smart Start Supporter,
Calling all parents of Kindergarteners in Centre County: We want you . . . to send us a photo of your child wearing his or her Class of 2024 t-shirt. Please email the photo with child's first name and written permission to use the photo in our online and/or paper publications. Congratulations to the following randomly selected winners who completed our "Fill in the Blanks" survey. If you haven't completed the survey, we would appreciate if you can take a couple of minutes to do it now. If you are on this list, please email and let us know if you want a parent, teacher, or child prize. Anna Smith Christine Ebeling Dana Conklin Valerie Moss Karen Young Alanna Leicht Natalie Markey Maggie Doby Brenda Reeve Mike Carey In the Smart Start office, we are doing follow-up from two recent events: the Early Childhood Mental Health Speaker Series and our first Parent Advisory Group meeting. See below for articles about each event, written by our current Penn State Communications interns.
For the children,
Smart Start Staff
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Public Events and Meetings | |
Smart Start Committee and Board meetings are listed under the 'Committee Activities" section below.
November
November 10: 1:00-2:30 PM, Parenting Plus Play Group, Park Forest Baptist Church, 3030 Carnegie Drive, State College, call 237-5731 for info.
November 11-12: PA School Age Child Care Alliance Annual Conference, Harrisburg. www.pennsacca.net
November 17: 1:00-2:30 PM, Parenting Plus Play Group, Park Forest Baptist Church, 3030 Carnegie Drive, State College, call 237-5731 for info.
November 18: Parenting Plus Play Group - 12:30 - 2:00 pm, Bellefonte Youth Center, call 237-5731 for information.
November 30-December 2: Early Childhood Summit, Penn Stater. www.earlychildhoodsummit.org
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| Member Article: Speaker Series, A Hit for Smart Start |
 Ari Morris is a Penn State senior interning at Smart Start- Centre County
Smart Start - Centre County recently held their Early Childhood Mental Health Speaker Series for professionals and parents. The workshop took place on Saturday, October 22nd at the Mount Nittany Medical Center.
Cheryl McNeil, Ph.D., a professor of Psychology in the Clinical Child Program at West Virginia University, conducted two separate workshops for the attendees. The first workshop, "Helping Young Children with Disruptive Behaviors: A Unique Approach" introduced a short-term parent training approach entitled Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). The second workshop, "Powerful Parenting Techniques: Make the Most of Your Family Time," taught parents how to make the most of their time with their children through super-positive parenting techniques.
Over 80 parents and professionals were in attendance for the event that had an overwhelmingly positive response. Many participants were thrilled that Cheryl McNeil took every question from audience members, allowing for an interactive event. Though each session ran for three hours, several guests thought the sessions could have ran longer due to the extensive amount of information McNeil had to offer.
For those of you who were not able to attend the event, you truly missed out on an amazing speaker. Dr. McNeil did an extremely good job of keeping the audience engaged through videos and examples. She showed numerous videos of defiant children, then walked the audience through step-by-step how to handle the situations.
If interested in these topics, yet couldn't make the event, check out one of Dr. McNeil's two co-authored books (Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and Short-Term Play Therapy for Disruptive Children).
Or for more information about parent-child interaction therapy, visit www.pcit.org.
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| Volunteer Opportunities |  | Thank you to:
Roni Francke, our new volunteer co-coordinator, and the following students for their help at the Early Childhood Mental Health Speaker Series: Maggie Gordon, Laura Horting, Nicolette Long, Elizabeth Lynch, Hannah Nellis, and Kristen Read Check out our newly revised "Get Involved" page on the website for details about our volunteer opportunities. |
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Child Health and Safety: Safe Sleep Guidelines from AAP
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The American Academy of Pediatrics is expanding its guidelines on safe sleep for babies, with additional information for parents on creating a safe environment for their babies to sleep.
The policy statement, "SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Expansion of Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment," and an accompanying technical report, were released October 18. Three important additions to the recommendations include:
--Breastfeeding is recommended and is associated with a reduced risk of SIDS.
--Infants should be immunized. Evidence suggests that immunization reduces the risk of SIDS by 50
percent.
--Bumper pads should not be used in cribs. There is no evidence that bumper pads prevent injuries, and
there is a potential risk of suffocation, strangulation or entrapment.
Parent information is available at www.healthychildren.org/safesleep.
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| Local News | |
To submit items for "local news" email kelly@smartstartcc.org.
2012 PA One Book, Every Young Child Selection Announced
The Pennsylvania Department of Education, Office of Commonwealth Libraries recently announced Stop Snoring, Bernard! by Pennsylvania author, Zachariah O'Hora, as the selection for 2012 PA One Book, Every Young Child project.
The year-long PA One Book event will begin with a kick-off reception on March 27, 2012, followed by year- long outreach which includes author visits across the state, traveling trunks of book-related activities, games, and manipulatives, as well as posters with activities linked to Pennsylvania's Early Learning Standards.
2012 marks the seventh year of this Pennsylvania statewide outreach project to increase awareness and promote early literacy development among parents, family members and the early childhood community. Although Stop Snoring, Bernard! will be available in Pennsylvania libraries, quantities of the book may be ordered by child care providers and other groups interested in getting books into the hands of children. Books will ship from the publisher beginning in March 2012.
For more information about PA One Book, Every Young Child, please visit the PA One Book website.
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| Advocacy This Month: Governor Calls for Education System Overhaul |
YORK COUNTY -- Flanked by students at a York County charter school, Governor Tom Corbett said the education system needs a major overhaul.
"We're here because we can't continue down this same path and think were going to get a different result," said Gov. Corbett .
Corbett outlined a plan that includes forming an oversight commission for charter schools, increasing a tax credit for businesses that offer scholarships and making higher standards for teacher evaluations.
"Right now the evaluation system is a rubber stamp and it must change," said Corbett.
But perhaps the most controversial of the changes is diverting taxpayer money from low performing schools and giving education vouchers to the low-income students in those districts to use elsewhere.
"(We would) provide scholarships to students in the bottom 5% of failing schools," Corbett said. "Students whose families earn 130% of the federal poverty rate would be eligible for these scholarships."
That includes a family of 4 with an income of $29,000 or less. The governor said he believes he has the support to push this latest plan through. He would like to be in place by next school year.
Story posted 2011.10.11 at 04:55 PM EDT
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| Committee Activities |
Health and Nutrition Committee Next meeting: Tuesday, November 22 from 9:30am to 11am at the Bennett Family Center, Penn State. Parking and entrance are at the rear of the building. Contact Person: Kim Bahnsen at kbahnsen@homenursingagency.com.
Early Childhood Mental Health Committee Next meeting: November 17, 9:00 - 10:30, Center for Child and Adult Development Office, 1315 W. College, Ste. 303, State College
Parenting & Literacy Action Committee Next meeting: November 14, 2:00 - 3:30, Schlow Library, State College
Early Care & Education Action Committee Next meeting
November 29, 8:30 - 10:00, Child Development and Family Council Office, 2565 Park Centre Blvd, Ste 100, State College Contact Person: Amy Wible at awible@cenclear.org.
Board and PCC Committee Session: Thursday, Nov. 10 |
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