College Heights Connection

Dear Families,

I hope you are having a good week and enjoying the beautiful Fall weather. A special thank you to the families in Ms. Collins, Ms. Jones and Ms. Boynton's classrooms for a wonderful and delicious staff lunch! It's an exciting time of year as we prepare for our upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences! This is one of the most valuable opportunities we have to collaborate, share insights, and ensure a focused plan for your child's success this school year.

Please be on the lookout for more details on sign up and agenda from your classroom teacher. We encourage you to come ready to discuss your student's progress, celebrate their achievements, and strategize together on areas for growth. Your partnership is essential to their academic and social development.

Warm regards,

Principal Garland

College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center

November 15 - Little Empire shopping day, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. (see details below)

November 18 - School picture makeup day

November 23-27 - Thanksgiving Break (Pre-K and Preschool Special Education programs only)

November 25 - School closes at noon (0-3 only)

November 26-27 - Thanksgiving Break (0-3 only)

December 18 - Early Release Day (Pre-K only)

December 21-January 4 - Semester Break (Pre-K only)

December 23 - School closes at noon (0-3 only)

December 24-January 4 - Semester Break (0-3)

January 5 - School resumes for 0-3 and Pre-K

January 18 - MLK Day - school closed (0-3 and Pre-K)

Links to 2026-27 CSD district calendars:

0-3

Pre-K

Our photographer, Melle Houston, has scheduled a makeup day for students who were feeling camera shy or were absent during the week of school photos. That day is Wednesday, November 18. If you have not yet received anything from Melle, please plan for your child to be photographed on Wednesday.

All image downloads and packages will be emailed directly to the families who have purchased them on Fridays. Image delivery as well as print delivery will happen every Friday by end of day. Prints will be dropped off at the school and sent home with your child. Please check your spam folder if you haven't received yours. If you have questions, or if you have not received your proof galleries, please reach out to Melle at hello@mellehouston.com.

The College Heights PTO made a generous donation to the school to purchase supplies for take-home activity bags for 0-2 families. There are two sets of activity bags. One set provides all the supplies for families to do Baby Doll Circle Time at home, and the other set contains sensory items such as interactive board books, a mirror, a pop-it toy, and instructions for the breathing exercises we use every day at school.

Ms. Asia's families will be the first to try out the Baby Doll Circle Time bags, and Ms. Luciana's families will receive the sensory bags. Look for more information in your child's weekly newsletter, and thank you again, PTO, for supporting our students' social-emotional learning!

PTO also approved and installed (thank you, Huston Hatch!) a new TV in our lobby. Families and visitors will be able to see a rotating slideshow of information such as important dates, celebrations and recognitions, reminders, and useful resources. We are grateful for this wonderful new resource.

On Monday, Pre-K students played a matching game to learn how to use picture signage in the library to find the books they want to check out. We will do this again next week and will begin checking out books the week after Thanksgiving. Books checked out weekly will remain in Pre-K classrooms until Winter Break in February, and then we will begin sending books home. More information on this will be coming after the first of the year.

I often use the resource Novel Effect to support library read alouds for all ages. This is an app that provides interactive sound effects and music to accompany the stories I read. This app has had an amazing impact on student engagement. We are seeing increased stamina for read alouds, improved comprehension, and lots of excitement about reading. This app is available to anyone, not just librarians and educators, and many of the books featured on Novel Effect can be checked out from our library. Email me for more information!

This week's books for one-, two- and three-year-old classes:

Natterjack Toad Makes a Mighty Crunch by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Kathryn Durst

Lucky Duck by Greg Pizzoli

Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Jen Corace

Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

Clap, Wave, Blow a Kiss! by Stephanie Cohen, illustrations by Lindsay Dale-Scott

Space Song Rocket Ride by Sunny Scribens, illustrated by David Sim

Thank you to the parents and caregivers who participated in our Baby Doll Circle Time parent coffee last week. Baby Doll Circle Time is part of our Conscious Discipline curriculum and is designed to help children develop empathy, attunement, self-regulation, and connection to trusted adults. Thank you to lead teachers Tori Tate (older twos) and Asia Sylvest (older ones), for preparing and leading the coffee chat. Look for additional coffee chats in the future.

Read this week's CSD Weekly for district-wide news and information.

Shop for a cause through this new collaboration between Little Empire and College Heights! Little Empire has generously agreed to donate 10 percent of all sales on Sunday, November 15 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. See details below.

Mark your calendars for the following PTO events. Details to follow.

• Feb 27 - Annual Auction

• Apr 23 - Spring Social Event

• May 3-7 - College Heights Staff Appreciation Week

• TBD - two additional garden clean up days

College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center cultivates an atmosphere where children take their first steps in building an authentic love of learning through developmentally appropriate practices in an environment that fosters family and community involvement.

All recent issues of the College Heights Connection are available here.

Older issues of CSD Weekly may be found on CSD's district newsletter webpage.