Dear Primary School Families,

It has been an incredible year, and I hope your summer is restful, relaxing, and full of PLAY! See you next year!

Children learn through their play.

Don’t underestimate the value of play-Children learn and develop:

Cognitive skills- like math and problem-solving in a pretend grocery store
Physical abilities - like balancing blocks and running on the playground
New vocabulary - like the words they need to play with toy dinosaurs
Social skills- like playing together in a pretend car wash
Literacy skills - like creating a menu for a pretend restaurant

Play is healthy-Play helps children grow strong and healthy. It also counteracts obesity issues facing many children today.
Play reduces stress-Play helps your children grow emotionally. It is joyful and provides an outlet for anxiety and stress.
Play is more than meets the eye-Play is simple and complex. There are many types of play: symbolic, sociodramatic, functional, and games with rules--to name just a few. Researchers study play’s many aspects: how children learn through play, how outdoor play impacts children’s health, the effects of screen time on play, to the need for recess in the school day.
Make time for play-As parents, you are the biggest supporters of your children’s learning. You can make sure they have as much time to play as possible during the day to promote cognitive, language, physical, social, and emotional development.
Play and learning go hand in hand-They are not separate activities. They are intertwined. Think about them as a science lecture with a lab. Play is the child’s lab.
Play outside-Remember your own outdoor experiences of building forts, playing on the beach, sledding in the winter, or playing with other children in the neighborhood. Make sure your children create outdoor memories too.
There is a lot to learn about play - There’s a lot written on children and play. Here are some NAEYC articles and books about play. David Elkind’s The Power of Play is also a great resource.
Trust your own playful instincts - Remember as a child how play just came naturally? Give your children time for play and see all that they are capable of when given the opportunity.
Play is a child’s context for learning-Children practice and reinforce their learning in multiple areas during play. It gives them a place and a time for learning that cannot be achieved through completing a worksheet. For example, in playing “restaurant”, children write and draw menus, set prices, take orders, and make out checks. Play provides rich learning opportunities and leads to children’s success and self-esteem.

resource:https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/10-things-every-parent-play

Take care, get outside, and play,

Ashley Bergman

What's new at the Primary School?

Have a great summer break!

This Month’s Cultural Celebrations

Our ECS community is made up of many different cultures! During Morning Meetings, we take some time to celebrate cultures, traditions, and world events. In the month of June, students will celebrate and learn more about Pride Month! Please email Chelsea.Young@ecspgh.org with any questions!

Childhood Wellness Tips

In Case You Missed It

Summer Camps
(NEW) Knights School Chess Camp For students ages 5-12 for one week of summertime Chess fun from June 26-30th!

ECS Sports Camps for rising 1st-6th graders from 7/10-13th and/or 7/24-27th!

YMCA Summer Camp for rising 1st-4th graders from 6/20 -7/28

Register for After School Care for the 23–24 School Year
After School Care provided by the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh at ECS Primary is now open and filling up quickly! This aftercare program is open for students in K–2 grade for the 23–24 school year. Registration, details, and info can be found here.

Parents can reach out to Alexis Fitzgerald, Program Director at afitzgerald@ymcapgh.org

Any questions about Billing & Payments can be directed to Business Manager, Tina Nellis at tnellis@ymcapgh.org

Primary School dismisses at 11:30 a.m. on half days.
ME TIME is a time of day where students are working on skills and strengths in Literacy or Math. Students are in groups all over our school building to support those strengths and skills. They could be working with any of the educators in our school building in numerous locations. If you would like to know more about your child’s ME TIME please reach out to your child’s homebase teacher.
- Please send in a water bottle to school with your child. We are outside often and students need to be able to bring water along.
- Please put sunscreen on your child prior to school as it may be sunny while we are outside!
Arrival
- Students being brought or bused to school will be accepted between 8:10 and 8:30 a.m.
- Students will be accepted at the back and front doors only.
- Do not stop or park on South Braddock Avenue; South Braddock Avenue is for buses only.
- If you are driving by to drop off, please turn onto Brashear Street and drop your student off at the back gate.
- If you do not see an ECS staff member at the gate, please find a parking space and walk your student to the back door
- If you are walking your student to the front or back door, please park either on East End Avenue or Waverly Street.
- If you arrive after 8:30, you must sign your student in at the front office. When ECS operates as a closed campus due to high community spread, families will sign students in at the table in the front vestibule.
- DO NOT obstruct or park in neighbors’ driveways and do not double park on the street.
Dismissal
- Students will be dismissed between 3:30 and 4 p.m.
- Do not stop or park on South Braddock Ave; South Braddock Ave is for buses only. All pick-up students will be dismissed from the playground space behind the school.
- Please park on either East End Ave. or Waverly St.
- Do not park on Brashear Street.
- Do not block the ECS gate/driveway.
- Do not obstruct or park in neighbors’ driveways and do not double park on the street
- No child will be permitted to go to an idling or unparked car.
- Make sure to bring your dismissal sign. Your child will not be released to an adult without this sign. When you see your child please make sure the supervising adult knows you have taken your child before you remove them from the backlot.
- Please arrange for early dismissals prior to picking your student up prior to 3:15 p.m. Once at school, please ring the front door and sign out your student in the office. ***Please note: When ECS operates as a closed campus due to “high” community level, families will sign students out at the table in the front vestibule.***
- We will NOT dismiss any student from the front doors after 3:15 p.m.
- During severe weather incidents (such as thunderstorms) families should still report to the rear of the building. Students will be dismissed from the two classrooms inside the two back doors.
Breakfast
- Regular: $2
- Reduced: $0.30
- Adult: $2.50
Lunch
- Regular: $2.85
- Reduced: $0.40
- Adult: $4.10
- Juice and/or milk can be purchased for $0.35.
Check the Food Service Page for more information.
Lunch money is collected online. No cash is accepted at school as lunch money. Schoolcafe.com is our online payment portal. You will need your student’s ID number to add funds to the account. You may also obtain your student’s lunch ID by contacting Niki Hutcherson directly at niki.hutcherson@ecspgh.org. To assist in our record keeping and accounts, ECS strongly encourages families to add funds to your child’s account (suggested $20.00) to help cover last minute purchases. Families who require an alternate payment method can email payments@ecspgh.org or contact Sarah Kegarise in the Business Office at 412-247-7970 ext.9304 Meal participation invoices will be sent out monthly. Parents may also set up balance reminders on scoolcafe.com. Small negative balances can add up, and we appreciate your help in keeping our accounts up to date.

To find your student’s id, please log on to Alma.
If a child forgets a lunch at home, he/she/they will be provided with an ECS school lunch. Families can then add money to the child’s account. Students will not be denied a meal or given an alternate meal due to a lack of funds on the account.
ECS has had a few reported cases of head lice in the buildings.
Head lice do not carry any disease, and their presence does not indicate unsanitary conditions. Head lice can infest anyone. Control of head lice in our school depends on prompt diagnosis and effective treatment. Your help in inspecting your child weekly throughout the school year for the presence of head lice would be greatly appreciated. Please note that whole grade head checks are not completed when lice is detected as this practice has shown to be non-productive.
We suggest the following procedure for inspecting your child for head lice:
1. Under bright light begin looking at the back of the head just above the neck area.
2. Part the hair section by section and look closely for head lice or nits (eggs). Eggs will usually be located near the scalp.
3. Depending on the length and thickness of the hair, it should take between 5 and 15 minutes to properly inspect a child's head.
Please read the ECS lice Guidelines for additional information. Due to the short life span of head lice when not on a person, the CDC does not recommend additional facilities treatment outside of ECS’s regular cleaning procedures. To learn more about the treatment and prevention/control of head lice, please visit the CDC’s website.

Primary School June Newsletter (22–23)