Monthly Report

February 2009

Early Childhood Mental Health

  • As part of the 2008-2009 Speaker Series, the ECMH committee's Nutrition and Behavior panel presentation will take place on Saturday March 28, in the morning at Radio Park Elementary School. This will be a 3 hour workshop for parents, caregivers, and early childhood professionals about the impact of children’s behavior surrounding food and eating—how that affects nutrition, the development of social and emotional skills, and family relationships and dynamics. We have confirmed the panel of Dr. Jennifer Savage Williams, Dr. Rachel Love, Dr. Sonia VanHorn, and Wendy Whitesell. Application forms were mailed out recently, and it is also possible to download the form from the Smart Start website. The application deadline is March 20.
  • A survey has been developed, as part of "Tuning in to Kids" project, which has been sent by e-mail to all the people who have been trained as instructors. We are still collecting these.

Parenting & Literacy

  • The committee is involved in the solicitation of sponsors for the 2009-2010 Pre-Kindergarten Calendar; a calendar for families with 4-year-olds, to help prepare them for entry into kindergarten. We have confirmed sponsorship from CIU#10, Nittany Eye Associates, Cen-Clear Child Services, State College Area School District, Centre County Communities That Care, CDFC, CCIS, CC-Youth Service Bureau, Bellefonte YMCA, Schlow Library, SC Kiwanis Club, Baby’s Burgers and Shakes, along with individual sponsors; Janice A. Lindsay, Linda and Tony Domin, and the Fathering Initiative’s Mick Trombley, Marc McCann, Bob Orndoff, David Eggebeen. If you would like to become a sponsor of the calendar, please contact Smart Start at (814)-238-0331.
  • Lori Perez, Human Development and Family Studies Penn State Intern has joined the Smart Start team, and has begun facilitating the coordination of the One Book Project. This year’s book is "If You Were a Penguin". Readings will be taking place in April. If you would like to participate as a reader for the project, please contact Lori, at 814-238-0331 or interns@smartstartcc.org.
  • The committee is updating the various sections of Babies Rock with Books", to keep it timely and relevant for young families. We are also seeking funding for a large re-printing of the booklet, which is distributed to parents of all newborns at the hospital.
  • Meredith Rogers, one of our committee members, continues to provide a "Preschool Storytime", every Thursday at Barnes and Noble, from 10:30-11:30. This is a new avenue for Smart Start to reach the general public, as children and parents are given direct access to books recommended by our Pre-K Calendar.
  • Meredith Rogers (committee member) continues to provide a "Preschool Storytime", every Thursday at Barnes and Noble, from 10:30-11:30. This is a new avenue for Smart Start to reach the general public, as children and parents are given direct access to books recommended by our Pre-K Calendar.
  • Meredith is also implementing First Book, and attempting to get it functioning in Centre County again. She will provide leadership for the group. If you would like to be involved in First Book, please contact Meredith at; crm2826@bn.com
  • The Committee is in the process of updating the calendar for the 2009-2010 school year with new photos, resources and information. You may submit photos to deborah@smartstartcc.org

Early Care & Education

  • The family-to-school subcommittee has been looking at the completed parent surveys. The information from the surveys has been compiled and used to assess what is working and what is not in the transition to Kindergarten process in Centre County schools.
  • The "Countdown to Kindergarten" event took place on February 7, 2009 at Nittany Mall. The event was a great success and there was a vast turnout of parents. We had very positive feedback, and based on a preliminary assessment, we observed that the mall's traffic during the event was up 39.3% based on the same day last year. We also believe attendance was in the range of 130 families. Currently the committee is in the process of securing a date for the 2010 Countdown to Kindergarten.

Communications & Public Advocacy

  • The newsletter is in the final stages and should be published within the next week. It will be available on the Smart Start website, under Publications.
  • Early Childhood programs are hard at work with the "Tell Your Story" childhood advocacy project. We have mailed over 50 cards to legislators each month so far in 2009, yet we are still hoping to receive and send more. All recipients of the packets, please complete and return them to us as soon as possible.
  • The Communications and Advocacy committee has lots of ideas for outreach, and welcomes anyone interested in writing, communications, marketing, and public awareness and advocacy. Please feel free to join this exciting committee at our next meeting, or contact the co-chairs at your convenience.

What Else

  • The "Children's Art Show" will be taking place throughout the month of April at the State College Borough Building. Artwork for display must be delivered to Gail Guss (Bennett Family Center) in the week of March 23-27. For more information contact Deborah Berenson at Smart Start; 814-238-0331 or deborah@smartstartcc.org OR Gail Guss at 814-865-4057.
  • Anita Ditz (PLA Committee Co-Chair) will be holding a public reading of "If You Were a Penguin" at the Borough Building on April 22, 10:30am.
  • "If You Were a Penguin" Authors will be holding a presentation of the book at the Schlow Library on April 28, 7pm. All ages welcome.