MPS ECC Updates: 10-24-25

This week, I want to chat about social/emotional learning and self-regulation skills. We know things that help us feel safe - routines, predictability, familiar people and environment. Sometimes, within our bodies or in the environment, things feel unstable or ‘off’. When this happens, it is more difficult to regulate our emotional state. Young children are still learning so much about their world and many things still feel new. As we talked about 2 weeks ago and 4 weeks ago, they are filled with wonder and curiosity. This is amazing! At the same time, they are trying to make sense of their world and create order.

We all experience a variety of emotions every day. For young children who are still learning so much about their world, these feelings can often be overwhelming. In ECC, all feelings are ok (big, small, happy, sad, angry). We name them, accept them, and if needed, we find ways to manage them.

We use language, materials, and approaches from Conscious Discipline and Zones of Regulation to support this learning. Some examples include taking deep breaths (we have posters that demonstrate different techniques), connecting with a ‘Feeling Buddy’ (dolls that have facial expressions matching emotions, children can choose to look at, hold, and coregulate), and understanding what level of energy you are feeling (different colors represent different zones). Please let me or your child’s following teacher know if you want to learn more about this.

Field Trip to Discovery Museum: On Monday, November 17th, our PIP, TAIP, Preschool, Kindergarten and Lower Elementary students will be taking a field trip to the Discovery Museum — at no cost (free admission)!

The Museum will be closed to the public that day and open exclusively for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and KODA visitors, creating a welcoming and inclusive experience for everyone.

The museum has many indoor and outdoor play spaces to encourage curiosity and creativity and students will have the opportunity to interact with Elementary students as well as other Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing children who are not in our program. This field trip is always a fun adventure and we are excited about it!

• Fri-Yay: October 31 Theme: Dress as your favorite character
• Photo Retakes: Monday, November 4
• Field Trip - Discovery Museum: Monday, November 17
• Caregiver-Teacher Conferences (Kindergarten): Wednesday, December 3

With heartfelt gratitude and warm wishes,

Janice Wenstrom

Interim ECC Principal

• October 27: Annual Vision Screening

• November 4: Picture Retake Day

• November 6: Parent Advisory Group Meeting, 6:30 PM. Zoom link: https://www.tlcdeaf.org/parent-advisory-group

• November 7: 1st Quarter Ends

• November 11: Veterans Day (No School)

• November 17: Annual Vision Screening

• November 19: Early Release (Prof. Dev.)

• November 26: WS - Early Release

• November 26: MPS - No School

• November 27-28: Fall Break

• December 3: Early Release (Teacher/Family Conferences)

• December 17: Early Release (Prof. Dev.)

• December 24 - January 1: No School (Winter Beak)

• January 2: No School (Prof. Dev.)

TONIGHT! Join us for a free film screening of 'Unmasking Deaf Education' with film producer Carey Ballard. Doors open at 6:00 PM in the TLC Schwab Athletic Center. Suggested age for viewing: High school and older.

• ASL Classes for Families - Free for primary caregivers of TLC students. New Session begins in January! Click here to register and use discount code tlcwinter26! -- For support in spoken languages other than English, please email communityasl@tlcdeaf.org.
• Mass Hands and Voices Parent-to-Parent Support Group

• Click Here to purchase TLC gear

• Click Here to purchase MPWS Athletic gear

We are excited to share that we have launched two new calendars on our website. You can find the links on our tlcdeaf.org home page.

• Our Athletics calendar will display MPWS games, home and away. This calendar will not include practices.

• Our Community Calendar is designed for the broader public to access, and will include local resources, events, and activities to create meaningful connections for families and students. We understand some parents are checking this calendar for specific MPS and WS school events. While we hope to post as often as we are able, we do ask that you continue to check emails, Department newsletters, Skyward, text messages, and communicate with your child's Following Teacher for school events, field trips, and other activities.