It's hard to believe that 2015 is quickly coming to an end and the New Year is right around the corner. It always amazes me how quickly time goes once September arrives. We welcome so many new families into the Center and transitions are happening within UCDC. During this time, children are growing and reaching new milestones. Before you know it, everyone is eagerly anticipating our long break, where we get to relax, regroup and hopefully spend time with our loved ones doing fun things!
This year has been quite busy at UCDC. Not only have we welcomed many new families and children, we have also welcomed many new teachers and staff. Elise, Jennifer, Shiloh, Rose, Skyy, Samantha, Sabrina, Michelle, Aimee, Carli and Jocelyn! That is quite a lot of new faces and I'm pleased to say that everyone is settling in quite nicely, each bringing new and exciting things to the program. Recruiting is always a challenge, as we want to find the perfect fit for the classroom and the Center each time we have to do it. Here's hoping the New Year brings stability and consistency and less recruiting!
Over the past year we have had three successful Professional Development Days. These days typically offer a variety of trainings, activities, and experiences for the staff and teachers. As a Keystone STARS facility, each teacher is required to have 24 hours of training annually while employed at the Center. Not only is it important that we maintain those hours, it is equally important that we continue to grow as educators, leaders, and caregivers. Time to learn and reflect is a big part of the work that we do each day and it encourages growth as an individual and as a professional. During our Professional Development Days we have talked about our philosophy, curriculum and practices while sorting out some of our policies and procedures so that everyone is on the same page. We worked with a few different organizations and welcomed speakers who talked about language development, culture, food and nutrition. One very memorable speaker was Junlei Li, who discussed the importance of daily interactions with young children. During these Professional Development Days, we also worked on team building activities and discussed process oriented art and positive discipline as it relates to our philosophy. We remembered to have fun throughout all of this learning by playing team building games on the playground in August. In November, we began our plans to execute a new strategic plan for the Center, having initial conversations and discussions which will carry over into our March Professional Development Day. The level of participation and enthusiasm from the staff on these days is inspirational and confirms the ongoing commitment to excellence and growth that has historically always been a part of UCDC.
UCDC was also successful this year in maintaining our NAEYC Accreditation status, had a very successful Department of Human Services inspections (perfect child and staff records and two minor environmental issues, which were addressed immediately), and we are currently waiting for a Keystone STARS re-designation visit.
Currently, we are participating in the annual PITT winter clothing drive (hats, gloves, socks can be donated in the lobby), we completed renovations in our building and had a successful growing season with our gardening. We hosted over 100 student visits and we will once again host the Early Childhood students from Duksung University in Korea. Four year old classrooms once again visited Chancellor Gallagher's residence to take hand-made pieces of art to put on his tree. It was a fun visit!
We are looking forward to a very productive New Year at UCDC and hope to increase our parent participation and center-wide activities as a part of our strategic plan. We are currently working on new menu ideas thanks to your online survey responses. We will keep you posted on those initiatives.
As the year comes to a close, we wish you all a peaceful and joyful new year. Please remember that less is more for very young children and scheduling your activities and visits with their needs in mind is important during the holiday season. Keeping to schedules as much as possible minimizes melt-downs and tears. Open ended toys and materials that promote creativity and exploration make the best gifts (keep the boxes for extra fun), and spending quiet time with close family is an important time to refuel and reconnect during what is typically a very busy and hectic time.
All the best to each of you and thank you for sharing your children with us!
Warmly,
Mary Beth