Happy new year to everyone and I hope that everyone enjoyed and rested in the holiday season. We are so excited for 2016!
I love the following quote. We try to tell our kids this and it is great for us to follow these ideas too:
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something.
By Neil Gaiman2016 is off to a wonderful start for us, including some exciting changes. As most of you know, we have been interviewing for a while in our quest to find the right people to join our team. We were looking for a full-time person for Purple Room because Teacher Rosemary needed to reduce her hours, and for one teacher each for Rose Room and Green Room as their enrollments have grown.
We deeply appreciate your patience during the hiring process, and especially those of you who helped refer candidates to us. We are very happy to announce that we are now fully staffed (yay!!!!) and ask you to join us in welcoming our new teachers to the team!
Welcome to Teacher Vianna in Purple RoomTeacher Vianna started substituting for us the last week of December and is now officially the co-teacher with Teacher Rashida in Purple Room. Her hours are 9:30-6:00 daily, so those of you with later pick-ups will get to consistently see her in the evenings. Vianna has a degree in ECE and several years of teaching experience. We are excited to welcome her to the preschool team!
But what about Teacher Rosemary?Teacher Rosemary has begun phasing out of Purple Room as Vianna phases in, but rest assured, she will still be with us every day. Starting February 1, Teacher Rosemary will become our "Art & Science Teacher in Residence," meaning that she will be rotating through each classroom (probably one day/week in each room) to work on special art and science projects with all of the children. This has always been one of her greatest strengths, so now all the rooms will get to benefit from her curriculum talent!
Welcome to Teacher Kayleigh in Rose Room (and helping preschool and Green Room)Teacher Kayleigh joined us full-time in mid-October. She is the assistant teacher in Rose Room in the mornings, helps Green Room with their lunches, and then supports preschool in the afternoons. Talk about multi-tasking! We appreciate her flexibility and willingness to serve as the "bridge" or familiar face for children who are transitioning between classrooms. Kayleigh is new to this field professionally but grew up with younger siblings and has worked with young children for a long time in other settings. She is Teacher Ramona's daughter and Teacher Julia's big sister. Welcome, Kayleigh!
Welcome to Teacher Katie (Green Room)Teacher Katie joined Green Room in mid-November. Her hours are 9:00-3:00 Monday through Friday. Katie has a degree in music and is currently a part-time student working toward her Master's in clinical psychology. She has experience working with toddlers in a summer program and is continuing to take classes in child development as well. She has a specific interest in (and talent for!) working with young children. We are so glad she joined our team!
Referrals are still welcome.We don't have any more full-time or part-time regular staff openings, but we are always open to substitutes, student teachers, or volunteers. If you know anyone who needs or wants experience with young children, we are always happy to share what we do with the next generation of teachers.
I am very excited to welcome Teachers Vianna, Kayleigh, and Katie to our Creative Minds family!
Richa Kapur
