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Message from Leadership

Happy 2025, Little Cat community-

We hope you had a restful and joyful holiday season! As we gear up for the second semester, we are excited to see your little ones return to school, ready for more learning, fun, and growth.

As we dive into the second half of the year, please remember that regular attendance is key to your child's success. If your child will be absent or tardy, kindly notify us as soon as possible. We appreciate your cooperation in ensuring that they’re present and ready to engage each day!

We are looking forward to a wonderful and productive second semester. Let’s make it the best one yet!

Warmly,

Caitlin Smith + Kerry Lindstrom

Little Cat News

🎅 Santa's Visit to Clark

On December 19th, Santa Claus was in our building visiting classrooms. He was able to travel from classroom to classroom spreading holiday cheer and visiting with our students.

Ballet Met Residency

Beginning the first week of January, Clark is partnering with Ballet Met out of Columbus to provide a ten week Wiggle Jig dance and movement program for our students in the Specialized Learning Classrooms. During this residency, students will learn through movement about weather changes, snow, & the water cycle.

☃️ Upcoming Dates:

January 20- MLK Day - District Closed

January 23- Parent Conferences 3:30-7:00 PM

February 17- President’s Day - District Closed

February 18- Professional Development Day- No Students

⭐ Staff Spotlight

Lexi Saunders- Preschool Teacher

How many years have you been in education?

9 years

What did you want to be when you grew up?

An artist

What is your greatest accomplishment?

Traveling alone to Utah and hiking Angel's Landing.

What makes you smile?

Seeing other people happy

What is your favorite thing about Clark Early Learning Center?

The students and the supportive colleagues that fill the building

Little Cat Learning ✏️

Making Bookmarks- Art, Music & Movement

Making a bookmark will help your children express their creativity, and at the same time, they will be making something useful! You child will experience creative art and writing while crafting their bookmark with you.

Materials:

Paper cut into wide strips
Markers or
Crayons
Any art supplies like construction paper, confetti, stickers
Contact paper

Steps:

Show your child any examples you might have of bookmarks. If you don’t have any, explain that people use something called a bookmark to hold their place in a book, rather than bending down a page or losing their spot.
Show your child the strips of paper and say this is what bookmarks usually look like. Put out the markers and art supplies and tell your child that they can decorate their bookmark any way they would like.
As they decorate the bookmark, make encouraging comments like “Oh, I see you are using a lot of colors” or “Tell me about your drawing.”
When your child has finished decorating the bookmark, cover it in contact paper to preserve the art work and lengthen the life of the bookmark.
Ask your child if they would like to read or look at one of their favorite books. When they are done, ask them if they would like to mark the page of their favorite picture or simply place the bookmark in the book to be ready for the next time!
Cleanup-Let your child tell you what they want you to clean up and then you get to tell them what to clean up!

Extension:

For younger children- They will still like to draw and decorate on the paper! Have them decorate a simple cardboard box. Place the box in their room or wherever they sleep. Let them place their favorite books in the box!

For older children- Let them poke a hole at the top of the bookmark with a hole punch. Have them cut some yarn to make a long tassel. They can make bookmarks for their school class for Valentine’s Day or any special celebration!

📋 Attendance Corner

Early Pick-Up

Picking up a student can take place any time before 2:30 pm. Please come to the main office with your Driver’s License, we will verify, and then, we will bring your child to the main office.

We are not able to accommodate early pick-ups after 2:30 pm. If you come after 2:30 pm, you will have to wait until 3:00 pm when our dismissal procedure begins. This is for the safety of our students. From 2:30 to 3:00 PM, our building of 400+ preschoolers is transitioning from various locations/activities within the building. We are required to maintain a specific staff-to-student ratio which prohibits us from transitioning students at this time.

Leader in Me 🌳

Habit 3: Think-Win-Win

Everyone Can Win

Thinking win-win is the key to working well with others. It is the most effective way of thinking, especially in a family. Families that learn and practice win-win thinking are happier, experience less conflict, and are better able to meet the family challenges that arise.

“Think Win-Win is a frame of mind and heart that seeks mutual benefit and mutual respect. It’s not thinking selfishly (win-lose) or like a victim (lose-win). It’s thinking in terms of ‘we, not me.’”

—Stephen R. Covey

STEPS

1. . I balance courage for getting what I want with consideration for what others want.
2. I make deposits in others’ Emotional Bank Accounts.
3. When conflicts arise, I look for 3rd Alternatives.
4. I cooperate instead of compete.
Family Activity: As a family, take turns acting out each of the ways of thinking in the boxes below. Have one person pretend to be sitting on the couch watching TV and the other person enters the room interested in watching TV. After role-playing each scenario, discuss what feelings that particular way of thinking generates and write them down.
After completing this pretending activity, discuss with your family- What kinds of feelings do you want to have in our family?

The Little Cat Ledger 🐾