September
Email: bright@443mail.org
Website: https://usd443.org/542378_3
Location: 200 West Comanche Street, Dodge City, KS, USA
Phone: 620-371-1220
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrightBeginningsEarlyChildhoodCenterDodgeCity
SEPTEMBER CALENDAR
9/7 - No School /Labor Day
9/10 - Policy Council Meeting
9/12 - Health Fair @ The Civic Center 8am-5pm
9/13 - International Festival @ Wright Park 2pm-6pm
9/21 - Student Count Day
Letter from the Principal
Letter from the Principal
Dear Bumblebee Families,
Welcome to September! 🍂 I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our families for making the beginning of this school year so wonderful. Seeing our students arrive each day eager to learn, explore, and make new friends has been a joy for our entire staff. Your support and partnership make our community truly special! 🌟
As we settle into our daily routines, please keep a few important reminders in mind to help us maintain a safe, smooth environment for everyone:
- Parking Lot Safety 🚗: To ensure the safety of all our little ones, parents must park in a designated parking spot before helping their child out of the car. Additionally, reserved handicapped parking spots ♿ are strictly for vehicles displaying a valid permit or tag.
- Arrival Times & Tardies ⏰: Morning classroom doors open at 7:50 AM, and children are marked tardy starting at 8:00 AM. For our afternoon session, doors open at 11:55 AM, with tardies marked at 12:05 PM. Arriving on time helps your child transition smoothly into the day's activities alongside their peers!
- The Importance of Attendance 🎒: Building healthy habits starts early! Consistent, everyday attendance in preschool establishes strong routines and sets a foundation for learning that benefits children for the rest of their lives. Every day of play, discovery, and social growth counts! ✨
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for entrusting us with your little ones each day. It is a privilege to watch them grow, giggle, and learn, and we couldn't ask for better partners in this journey than you. Here’s to a marvelous month filled with big smiles, new milestones, and endless discovery! 🍎
Bianca Alvarez
Principal/Director
Bright Beginnings Bumblebees
Preschool Education
🍎 Preschool Learning: A Great Start to the Year!
Our preschoolers are off to a wonderful start! During these first few weeks, we are focusing on helping children feel comfortable at school, make new friends, and learn our everyday classroom routines.
🌟 What We’re Learning
Children are already:
✨ Making new friends and practicing sharing and taking turns
📚 Listening to stories and learning to recognize their names in print
🔢 Practicing counting out loud and recognizing numbers
🎨 Identifying colors and shapes throughout the classroom
✂️ Building fine motor skills through cutting, drawing, coloring, and building
💡 Learning classroom routines, expectations, and independence
Through play, stories, conversations, and hands-on activities, children are learning important skills every day. We are excited to watch their curiosity, friendships, independence, and confidence grow throughout the school year! 💕
BRIGHT BEGINNINGS OPEN LIBRARY SCHEDULE
STORY TIME in the LIBRARY - EVERY THURSDAY!
During Story Time, you and your child can also look through the library and Check Out a book to take home for the week. Please bring your child and join us for a fun activity right after child's dismissal time.
THE LIBRARY WILL BE OPEN TO PARENTS - EVERY THURSDAY
Morning Session 11:10am
Afternoon Session 3:15pm
Come check out a book to take home and read with your child.
Parent/Child Activity Calendar for the month of September
POLICY COUNCIL
- By-Laws - Learn about what Policy Council Members do.
- VOTE for new Policy Council parent President, Vice President, and Secretary
- Monthly Fiscal Report
- Annual Report 25-26
- Self Assessment 25-26
- ERSEA Training
The policy council team is made up
- 7 Head Start Parents
- 2 Early Head Start Parent
- 2 Parents from other qualifying programs
- 1 443 Board member
- 3 Community Members
- Not eligible: 443 or 613 employees
- One year terms not to exceed 5 years.
- Each member counts for 1 vote.
- We must have a quorum of 8 to vote on items.
Officers:
- Chairperson: Understand By-Laws and run a respectful meeting.
- Vice Chairperson: Assume running the meeting in case the Chairperson is not present.
- Secretary: Review the minutes typed by staff
If you are interested in participating in Policy Council, please contact your teacher, advocate, or Brenda Carmona for more information. Please click here to read more about Policy Council. We are so excited to share our program information with parents and have our parents guide our program decisions.
Policy Council Community Members
Policy Council Management Team
Policy Council Parent Members
Parent Event
Event Information
Bright Beginnings is excited to participate in the International Festival on Sunday, September 13th from 2:00–6:00pm at Wright Park. This wonderful community event celebrates the value of cultural exchange and will bring people together to experience and learn from one another through music, dance, food, and art. ✨ Event Highlights: Over 45 vendors Free food from 11 different countries (provided by Crossroads Kitchen from 2–3pm) Lucha libre wrestling Car show Live entertainment Six food trucks We invite you and your family to stop by the Bright Beginnings booth where your child can enjoy a fun multicultural art craft. Our Family Advocates and our school librarian will be there to greet you! This is a family-friendly event, and we hope to see you there!
A NOTE FROM MISS MELYSSA
Greetings!
Thank you for sharing your children with us and being a part of our Bright Beginnings School Family!
I have had the JOY of meeting your children by greeting in the hallways, joining in their classrooms, playing on the playground, or during Friend's Time in your child's classroom family.
Friends Time is a daily whole group time where children learn and practice using Seconds Steps Curriculum along with Conscious Discipline. They learn ways to identify their needs in positive ways and what to do when big emotions or responses happen. They learn how to be with the teachers in their room who are their helper to be safe, calm as needed, problem solve in their activities, as well as with others. All of these moments allow children to "turn on their brain" to engage. Wow! Preschool is a time for much learning! I will join in all classrooms weekly to with our friends, Shubert, Sophie, and Bailey Bear.
You are invited to join in for Parent Connection Groups/Mini Sessions on shared topics. Meet me with Miss Amanda for the Afternoon Story Time at least once a month. All of these will include the monthly focus your child is learning in the classroom.
Be looking for ways to join in any or all of these opportunities as well as on Facebook, Parent Square, and when we see each other in the hallways. We are in this together!
Thank you for being a part of our Bright Beginnings Family! You got this family!
Wishing you Well this School Year!
~ Melyssa Walker--aka; Miss Melyssa
Parent Connection Groups
Come chat with other Parents/Caregivers with a Social/Emotional Focus
Meet in the Bright Beginnings Foyer on WEDNESDAYS at Drop off
Wednesdays at 8:00-8:30 am and/or 12:00-12:30 pm
September topics include
Separations and Connections, Learning new routine, Creating A Visual Schedule, and
Co-Regulation with your child
September is the Power of Perception and the Skill of Composure
Read Aloud by Miss Melyssa
I Love You Connection
Practice How to Take STAR Breaths
Nurse Tieben's Corner
NURSE TIEBEN'S CORNER
Some notes from our Nurse:
Please make sure that your child is up to date with:
- Physical Exam
- Update Immunizations
- Lead Blood
- Hemoglobin
- Dental Exam
It is important to have these Health Requirements because our program has deadlines to meet to have these health items due for this school year. If your child is still missing health requirements see below the information of doctors offices.
Kendra Tieben BSN, RN
Health/Nutrition Facilitator~School Nurse
Bright Beginnings Early Childhood Center
BB 620-371-1227 T/Wam/R
EHS 620-371-1260 M/Wpm/F
FREE COMMUNITY HEALTH EVENT - SEPTEMBER 12
Bright Beginnings Day Care
BRIGHT BEGINNINGS CHILDCARE
Dear families,
We’ve had a busy and exciting summer here at daycare! As the seasons changed, we had the bittersweet opportunity to say farewell to several of the children who have aged out of our program. While we miss having them with us each day, we are so proud of how much they’ve grown and excited to see the wonderful things they will accomplish next!
At the same time, we’ve been busy welcoming and getting to know new families, building relationships, and learning strategies to help us provide the best possible care and learning environment for every child.
This summer, our entire daycare team participated in professional development and training. We learned a variety of skills and strategies, including:
- CPR & First Aid
- Safe Sleep Practices
- Positive Behavior Guidance
- Creating Engaging Play Environments
- Routines & Expectations
- Bringing the Classroom Outdoors
- Healthy Screen Time
We are excited to bring everything we learned back into our classrooms and use these strategies to support our children as they learn, play, explore, and grow.
We have openings! We currently have spots available for children ages 2 ½ - 3 years old and we will have infant spots available starting in October.
Ms. Alma’s infant classroom
Ms. Maisbel’s room playing outside
Ms. Maisbel’s class at the beginning of our new year
August Water Play
We had a busy summer! We held a socialization at the new splash pad in Dodge City in the month of June. We also held a water play and tie dye day in the month of July and another in August.
Ms. Bianka’s class working on a stamping activity
Ms. Ana’s class playing indoors during the summer
Early Head Start Home Visiting Program
EARLY HEAD START
Early Head Start Families — Join Us for BOOT HILL! 👢⭐
We are excited to invite our Early Head Start families to our September EHS/PAT Socialization at Boot Hill in Dodge City!
📅 Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Choose the time that works best for your family:
⏰ 10:00–11:00 AM
OR
⏰ 3:30–4:30 PM
📍 Boot Hill
500 W Wyatt Earp Blvd.
Dodge City, KS
Come spend time with your child, participate in fun activities, and connect with other Early Head Start families! 🤎
🚌 Need transportation? Please contact your Home Visitor.
We hope to see you there! 🤠👢