Child care

Butterfly welcome letter

Welcome to the Butterfly Room

Dear Family and Friends,
Welcome to the Butterfly Room at the PCC Child Development Lab School. Our classroom is a mixed age preschool room with children 3-5 years old. We are looking forward to sharing this special time with you during your child’s early development. To help make the transition as enjoyable and smooth as possible we have included some information that will hopefully be helpful to you.

Teaching Team

As you may already know, PCC CDC is a lab school. The teachers in the room include the Mentor teacher,Julie Crocker, Child Development Specialist, Erika Gomez Lopez and Child Development Specialist, Christy Chan. Jennifer Vernon will be the faculty supervising instructor this term that will be in the classroom observing practicum students at varying times. Each term we will have practicum students in the lab school throughout the week. As a lab school we also have students observing for their Early Childhood Educations courses. Sharon Fiser is our art room teacher. The art room is the room in between the two preschool classrooms. Sharon is here in the morning Monday-Thursdays.

Important information:
  1. We open at 7:30am and close at 3:30pm, Monday through Friday. Our morning time is filled with activities, circle time, choice time, and breakfast. This is such an important part of our day where children are able to build relationships with each other and teachers and learn the routines of our classroom. It is so beneficial to your child to be with us during this morning time. We encourage you to arrive at least by 8:30am if possible.
    • The center closes at 3:30pm. Please take this into consideration when picking up your child to be here a little before 3:30 so teachers have time to close the classroom. If you have a PCC class until 3:50 please check in with Astrid or Velvet to make arrangements for your child to stay until 3:55.
  2. Please enter through the Butterfly classroom door. We are room 120. Please encourage your child to hang up their own coat and take their water bottle out of their backpack and place it on the water bottle shelf near the doors by the cubbies and bathrooms.When dropping off children please help your child wash their hands. We also ask that parents wash their hands upon entering the classroom as well. We have sinks in the classroom and in the bathroom.
  3. Please sign your child in and out each day. New this year we will be using the Famly App so you can sign in digitally. (Our sign in sheet will be on top of the cubbies.) Please include a phone number that you can be reached at during the day while your child is in our care. Please do not leave until you and your child have been greeted by a Butterfly Room teacher.
  4. We provide a light morning breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack. It is new for our program to provide lunch this year in addition to breakfast and afternoon snacks. Your child may eat the meals provided by PCC or bring their own food from home. Please let us know each day if your child has food from home. The weekly menu is posted on the information wall near the sign in sheet in the bathroom. You will also receive a digital copy of the menu.
  5. Lunch brought from home. Please label each item/container with your child’s name. Please include an ice pack as not all the lunches can fit in our little fridge.
  6. Water bottles are encouraged, but not required. If you bring a water bottle please label it with your child’s name.
  7. Please bring diapers / pull-ups for your child if needed. We will provide baby wipes. Each child has their own labeled spot where we will keep diapers/pull ups. If you would like us to use diaper cream on your child please bring it to the classroom labeled with your child’s name. We have a form for you to fill out for the diaper cream.
  8. If your child is learning how to use the toilet please send extra underwear and pants. When children are beginning to use the toilet we expect some accidents so extra underwear is very helpful. Please know we support you in your child’s learning how to use the toilet. Please check in with us so we can all be on the same page about this important time in your child’s development.
  9. Please bring spare clothes. We will keep these spare clothes in a basket in your child’s cubby. Please note your child will get messy because they will be painting, playing outside in dirt, sand and water. Please send them in clothes and shoes that are comfortable for play, running, climbing, and for getting messy at school. We will also be taking lots of walks around campus and enjoying the beautiful nature around campus. Rain boots are great for our wet Oregon weather as well.
  10. If you haven’t already, please return the family information sheet along with the emergency form.
  11. We provide cots, sheets, and blankets for each child during rest time. Your child may also bring a snuggly comfort item if they wish. Also, if they have a favorite blanket they may also bring that.
  12. Daily communication. In the preschool room we do not do daily reports that were used in the infant and toddler rooms. However, we still can communicate with you about your child’s day through email or text. New this year we may also be using the Famly App to communicate and send photos of your child directly to you.
    • At pick up time we may share anecdotes of your child’s day, but we also want that time to be about you and your child reconnecting. We can arrange times to meet or talk on the phone if you have concerns or just want more time to check in more depth about your child.
    • We will formally meet three times a year to discuss your goals for your child, how we will support those goals in the classroom, and the progress your child is making. These formal meetings happen at the beginning of the year, Winter Break and end of Spring Term. We can meet at any other time as well if you or a teacher request it.
  13. Accident reports – If your child is hurt throughout the day, we will fill out an accident report that will be signed by the teacher, parent and director.
  14. Child Illness – If your child is sick please keep them home. Our center follows the state licensing for early learning and OHA guidelines for keeping children home. Please call, email or text if your child will be out. If your child has a fever, vomits, has diarrhea, an unknown rash or bad cough while at school we will ask you to pick them up and take them home.
    • Washing hands: hand washing is one of the best ways to help keep our community healthy, and reduce illness. We ask that all persons entering our center wash hands with soap and water.
Celebrating families

Our goal is that all children and families feel safe, welcomed, valued, and represented in our classroom. We would love for you to bring in family photos that we can display to celebrate your family plus to help your child feel comforted when they miss you. We can also take a photo at the beginning of the term of you and your child. Also, if you speak a different language other than English at home we would love for you to share some phrases with us that we could all learn and that might help your child feel more comfortable. Please let us know what name they refer to you as so we can use the same name as well when speaking to them about you. We encourage families to share their culture with us.

We recognize you as your child’s first teacher and meeting with you and your child helps us to get to know your child better and to plan for your child’s individual needs. We welcome your comments, questions, and concerns so please let us know how we can best serve you and your family.

Birthdays and holidays

Please feel free to reach out to the Butterfly room teachers if you would like to do something to acknowledge your child’s birthday at school. If you want to pass out invitations to a celebration outside of school please bring one for each child and if you are not able to invite each child in the classroom please invite children privately outside of school.

At our center we do not celebrate specific holidays, but we do acknowledge the changing seasons. Children and families are welcome to share about their own unique family traditions including holidays they celebrate at home.

Communication

We value open communication between the center and families. Please feel free to contact us at any time with questions or concerns that you may have. We have an open door policy and welcome parents to come visit at any time. You do not need to let us know ahead of time, but a text or email is always helpful. We would love your participation in any way that is convenient for you. Visiting for lunch, reading a book or sharing something special from your home culture are some wonderful ways to connect with your child at school.

Here are some contact email addresses:

Astrid: astrid.kizilelma@pcc.edu, 971-722-4424, Administrative Support
Velvet: velvet.cooley@pcc.edu, Director
Erika: erika.gomezlopez@pcc.edu
Christy: chiyanchristy.chan@pcc.edu
Julie: julie.crocker@pcc.edu, cell: 971-212-6141

We are looking forward to a great term together exploring, growing, and learning.
Julie, Erika, and Christy