Welcome to Rio Rancho Shining Stars Preschool!

Shining Stars Preschool is a program for children who have educational disabilities, children from low socioeconomic backgrounds and four year olds funded through the Pre-K Initiative Grant Program.

The preschool is based on the premise that early intervention is effective in preparing children with a solid foundation for educational success, providing remediation for learning deficits, and identifying strategies which offset the impact of educational disabilities on young children. The SSP has a transdisciplinary philosophy in which all the staff members working with a child share techniques to address individual goals and objectives. The school team along with the parents and other caregivers, work together in roles which address each child’s specific needs.

All of our students have identified learning goals and objectives based on the NMPED Performance Standards & Benchmarks for Three and Four Year Old Children. Children with educational disabilities attending SSP have Individualized Education Plans (IEP's) with learning goals and objectives based on needs identified through formal testing. The goals and objectives are guides for the staff to help the children acquire skills that other children of their age have already learned.

Announcements:

SSPS Newsletter: Principal message, Healthy Snacking, Math Tips, , and more!

School and Peanuts: There are students in school who are highly allergic to peanuts. You probably know that this is a life-threatening condition for some children. We ask that you keep this a peanut free school as much as possible. Please remember not to send peanuts or candy with peanuts or peanut butter to school. Most accidents occur when we are all busier than usual or are rushed. Please remember this whenever sending treats to school. Check out the Peanut Allergies Kid website for more information.

WEDNESDAY is Shining Stars Preschool's day at Dairy Queen!
>> During October, November, December and January
>> Visit Dairy Queen (2116 Southern) on Wednesday and enjoy a meal or ice cream
>> Ask for a receipt and give this receipt to your child's teacher
>> At the end of January, SSPS will get 10% of the receipts!
>> Top class will earn an ice cream party!

Worried about the Swine Flu?
>> Click here to read all about what parents and children can do to prevent this from spreading.
>> RRPS has an information page about this as well here.

RRPS is taking steps to eliminate energy waste and conserve resources. Check out our Green Page here!

Parents: RRPS has implemented a "No Idling" procedure to cut down on exhaust pollution at our schools: read the explanation and procedure here.

ALL PARENTS: Please make sure that your contact information (especially addresses and home/cell phone numbers) have been updated in your child’s school record so that our emergency contact system will be able to reach the correct person in the case of emergencies or attendance calls!  Contact the Registrar at each of your children's schools to make sure information is correct if: - you have changed your phone number(s) - you have not received a notification call from the RRPS SchoolMessenger system this year   If you have received a call and you're not the parent of (or the emergency contact for) an RRPS student, call 896-0667 Ext. 180.

Welcome from Suzanne:
Happy November! November is the month we take time to think of the many reasons we have to be thankful. We have much to appreciate here at Shining Stars Preschool.... Read the rest of the November newsletter here....

Interested in having your child attend the Shining Stars Preschool this year (2009-10)? Here are the guidelines:

• We will be accepting applications for the 09-10 school year starting April 1st through the 15th
• The child must be 4 years old before September 1, 2009
• This is not a first come, first serve basis... ALL applications are treated equally
• You do not need to bring anything with you to fill out the application
• Once the application is completed, the child will be screened and then put into the lottery
• We will pull children from the lottery and inform parents in May
• Our school year runs the same as the elementary schools
• The application is not available online and cannot be picked up prior to April 1st
• Be sure to read our Parent Handbook for program details

Read our TEACHER NEWSLETTERS!

Parents:

• Access our online Library here: www.autolibrarian.net (use this pin to access the system: pssp735)
• Nutrition Nuggets- make sure your children are eating to learn (updated monthly)
• Parent Tips: Shining Stars Preschool now offers access (through this website) to an online service, "Parent Tips Site!". Get information about parenting topics here. (En Español)

Shining Stars Preschool ahora ofrece el acceso (por este sitio web) a un servicio en línea, "Ideas Para Los Padres", esto proporciona el consejo y la información a padres en numerosos temas. ¡El eslabón está abajo y en el menú a la izquierda!

What is our Philosophy?

The RRPS SSP is based on the premise that early intervention is effective in remediating learning deficits and identifying strategies which offset the impact of educational disabilities on young children. Some children with disabilities need specialized intervention to maximize the skills they need for kindergarten. The SSP has a transdisciplinary philosophy in which all the staff members working with a child share techniques to address individual goals and objectives. The school team, along with the parents and other caregivers, work together in roles which address each child's specific needs.

Program Components

The Shining Stars Preschool consists of a variety of placement options for children who qualify for services:

• Speech Only - The children receive speech therapy at the preschool as part of their daily program.
• Preschool Program - Much like community preschools, the typical Shining Stars schedule involves 2.5 hours per day, 4 days per week. Classes have a size limit of 8 students per session, served by special educators and instructional assistants.

Who will work with my child?

If you visit our classrooms, you will see several adults in the room. A certified special education teacher designs the daily program based on developmentally appropriate curriculum. Instructional assistants help the teacher implement the plans. Therapists integrate their activities into the curriculum.