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Parent Newsletter - Check Back for Spring News
WELCOME TO OUR NEW CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER FAMILIES
We are very excited and pleased to welcome all of our new families to the Merced College Child Development Center family. We value our families and work towards a parent and staff partnership with each of you. There is much to learn about our center. This monthly parent newsletter will keep you informed about all of the special services, special events, and parent education opportunities provided at the CDC. Your child’s classroom teachers will also be talking to you about these opportunities. We encourage you to take advantage of our comprehensive services and to be an active participant in your child’s school.
PARENT LENDING LIBRARY
Did you know that the CDC provides a parent lending library? There are excellent resources available to all enrolled families that include children’s books, CD’s, parenting books, and toys. The parent lending library is located in the entrance of the main CDC. These materials can be checked out up to 30 days with a limit of 2 items per check out. In order to check out items you must sign a release for the lending library. You can check out items with Linda or Donnell.
PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL
The Parent Advisory Council (PAC) is a group of parents that is nominated by staff and administration to serve on the council for a period not exceeding three years. Each classroom has two representatives. PAC representatives meet once a month with CDC administration. Agenda items include the development of parent activities, provide feedback from the parent’s perspective, attend Parent Time (parent education opportunity), develop fund raisers for the Merced College Child Development Center Endowment, develop our spring health fair, as well as other projects. Take a few moments to get to know your PAC representatives. They are here to listen to your ideas! Check out our PAC page to find your PAC representative.
JUST SOME REMINDERS:
Diapers and Toilet Training: If your child is not toilet trained then regular diaper changes are done throughout the day. Parents will provide a minimum of five diapers per day or their child. In addition, one case (approximately 700) diaper wipes are to be donated per semester. Parents who fail to provide the basic supply of diapers and wipes for their child may have access denied to the program. If your child has allergies to certain wipes, you must provide the appropriate wipes as needed. ( Parent Handbook: pg 17).
When to keep your child at home: Illness prevents children from participating comfortably in school activities. At times, illness results in a greater care need than the school staff can provide. For the welfare of all children enrolled at the CDC, parents/guardians should follow recommended guidelines of when to keep their child at home. When a contagious disease has occurred in the classroom, parents will be notified. The Center follows the exclusion guidelines per American Public Health Association in conjunction with the American Academy of Pediatrics. A child should stay home when he/she has any of the following conditions or signs of possible severe illness:
- Fever along with behavior change or other signs of illness such as sore throat, rash, vomiting, diarrhea, earache, etc. Fever is defined as having a temperature of 100.2° or higher taken in the ear.
- Symptoms and signs of possible severe illness such as unusual tiredness, uncontrolled coughing or wheezing, continuous crying, difficulty breathing or green discharge from the nose.
- Diarrhea – runny, watery or bloody stools.
- Vomiting – more than once in a 24-hour period.
- Body rash with fever.
- Sore throat with fever and swollen glands or mouth sore with drooling.
- Eye discharge - thick mucus or pus draining from the eye. (Viral conjunctivitis usually has a clear, watery discharge and may not require medication or exclusion.)
- Head lice
- Severe coughing – child gets red or blue in the face, or makes high-pitched whooping sound after coughing.
- Child is irritable, continuously crying, or requires more attention and care than you can provide without compromising the health and safety of the other children in your care
When to Send Your Child Back to School:
The child is “symptom-free” for a full 24 hours of the areas listed above and/or has a doctor’s note stating the date the child can return safely to school or is no longer contagious.
As part of our parent education please feel free to forward any questions regarding the Center, Child Development or general parenting concerns to: Donnell Smith
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