It has been a busy month!  The town has a new library and the ECCS held their first office hours there! The ECCS hosted a mental health workshop, held their third Community Cafe, connected with parents at two holiday events, and coordinated a donation of books for every child receiving holiday gifts from Southington Community Services.

As we approach the end of the year, all of us at the Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington wish you a healthy and happy holiday season.

It is time to start thinking about registering for kindergarten for the 2025-2026 school year. 

Southington Public Schools will host screening sessions for families seeking a waiver for any child who wishes to enter Kindergarten next fall and will NOT be five years of age by September 1, 2025.   

• Per state law, students five years of age by September 1, 2025, are automatically eligible and, therefore, do not need a waiver or screener administered.  
• The Early Admission Process shall be available only for a child who will reach the age of five on or after September 2, 2025, and before January 1, 2026. 
• The district has only reserved enough slots for 4-year-olds seeking a waiver; please do not sign up if your child meets the eligibility criteria above. 

The screenings will be held on Saturday, January 11th and Saturday, January 18th by appointment. View the District letter with registration link.

The SPS Kindergarten Registration Information Session will be held on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 in the Joseph A. DePaolo Middle School Auditorium, 385 Pleasant Street, Southington. Check in at 5:30, the program starts at 6 pm. Parents/guardians, regardless of which elementary school their students will attend, are invited to this session. Sign in when you arrive and hear general information about the registration process and the day-in-the-life of a kindergartner. This program is for adults. Snow date is 3/18/24. Online registration will open after that.

Learn more about Kindergarten Registration, including the Connecticut State Department of Education’s Regional School Choice Office (RSCO)'s Open Choice and Magnet School programs, programs at local parochial schools as well as Southington Public Schools.

The recording and slides from the Children's Mental Health in Southington webinar the ECCS recently held are available at https://www.southingtonearlychildhood.org/childrens-mental-health-in-southington-webinar/.

Southington's Senior Community Health Outreach Coordinator, Holly Hansen, LMSW, can be reached at 860.604.7448 or hrhansen@wheelerclinic.org. She can assist with mental health care advice or a provider referral. She also holds office hours at the Library and is at community events.

This webinar is part of our Southington Community Well-Being Grant Initiative through the Bradley Henry Barnes & Leila Upson Barnes Memorial Trust at the Main Street Community Foundation.

The Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington hosted their third Community Cafe about encouraging a play-based childhood on November 21, 2024.

Slides, links to other resources and a summary of the event are now posted at Community Cafe: Encouraging a Play-based Childhood - ECCS

This free event is funded by a grant from the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood as administered by the Connecticut Children’s Collective (CTCC).

Thanks to everyone who participated in the RAPID Surveys this year. The results of the first survey, on child care access and affordability, has been published in this fact sheet sheet, along with a blog post that describes the findings. 

One fact that stood out to us was related to Connecticut's child care subsidy (Care 4 Kids). Of the Connecticut parents surveyed, who are eligible for Care 4 Kids based on their income, 28% did not apply because they are unsure if their family meets the income eligibility criteria and another 20% said they did not know about the child care benefits or how to find a child care program that accepts the benefits. If your family falls in the low to moderate income category and you need childcare, use the Care 4 Kids eligibility screening tool to see if you are eligible. The ECCS Resource Directory indicates if a provider accepts the Care 4 Kids subsidy.

The fourth RAPID survey focuses on early literacy. It will be open from January 17 - February 14, 2025. Participants will receive a $10 gift card for completing it. We will share the link in the ECCS's January newsletter and anyone who completed a previous RAPID survey will receive a message directly from Stamford/The Connecticut Project.

The holidays may be the season of giving, but we want to avoid the spread of illness (especially to those who are most vulnerable). Washing hands is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs. According to the CDC, handwashing with soap could protect about 1 out of every 3 young children who get sick with diarrhea and almost 1 out of 5 young children with respiratory infections.

Washing your hands is easy: 

1. Wet your hands with clean, running water, turn off the tap, and apply soap.
2. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
3. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. 
4. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
5. Dry your hands using a clean towel or an air dryer.

When should you wash your hands?

1. Before, during, and after preparing food.
2. Before and after eating food.
3. Before and after caring for someone at home who is sick.
4. Before and after treating a cut or wound.
5. After using the toilet, changing diapers, and cleaning up a child who has used the toilet.
6. After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
7. After touching an animal, animal feed (including handling pet food or pet treats), or animal waste.
8. After touching garbage.

Check out our page on Common Childhood Illnesses to learn more about common illnesses and how to prevent their spread and more.

It’s important to make sure all of the toys our little ones will or have already received this holiday season are safe! Keep up with current product recalls at www.cpsc.gov/Recalls.

Learn more about recalls in the October issue of our Newsletter.

Southington's new public library opened earlier this month. If you haven't stopped by, we encourage you to do so. There is a large children's department with their own program room, and space to add more interactive materials and toys. Children's programs are on the calendar. You can return materials or make a donation to the Friends of the Library without getting out of your car by driving around the back and using the book drops that are built into the building. For now, you need to make a tight u-turn to get out.

Be sure to take advantage of the Library's annual Book on Every Bed program which runs until Saturday, January 4th. Southington residents are invited to come to the Children's Services Desk and select a book for their child or children. Once chosen, place the book at the foot of a child’s bed after they are asleep so that it will be the first thing they see on Christmas morning, the first day of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or any holiday you celebrate! Children do not need to be present to choose the book - in fact, we think it's more fun if you keep it a surprise! This is a one book (1) book per child event, while supplies last.

So what is next with the construction project? 

• The construction and architect team is working through the "punch list" of items that were incomplete or need to be adjusted or purchased. The library staff is also unpacking and getting settled.
• Training for staff on all the systems will continue. For example, lighting, AV, alarm, HVAC, room partitions, etc.
• Computers, printers, etc. are being set up by the Town IT department.
• The Meriden Ave parking lot is now closed to the public and has become a construction zone. There will be work on a retaining wall. Abatement of the old building happens over the next few weeks.
• Demolition of the old building is scheduled for the first week of January. Utilities will be disconnected. They will be using two excavators to chomp it down and sort the materials. The exterior walls along Main Street and Meriden Ave will be the last to be removed, The basement area will be filled.
• The glass doors on the north side of the new building, in the community room, will be installed. Currently that space is covered with plywood and there is a temporary wall inside. This way the glass isn't damaged during the demolition.
• The Meriden Ave parking lot will be extended to the west. It will be connected to the driveway along the back of the new building where the book drop off is located.
• The courtyard, including the customized bricks, will be installed off of the new community room.
• Landscaping of the area on the corner will happen when the weather warms up.

The plan is to wrap everything up and reopen the Meriden Ave parking lot by springtime. So for now please be patient with the parking situation.
Early in the process the decision was made to maximize the square footage using the $16.9M approved via the referendum. The $5M State grant that Rep. Chris Poulos helped obtain could only be used to expand the square footage and improve the overall exterior look. The Library Board was charged by the Town Council with conducting a Capital Campaign for furniture and fixtures. Most of the public-facing furniture has been purchased new. Most of the staff furniture was moved. As time goes on and the staff and Library Board sees what is needed, how much money is left in the overall project budget, and how much is raised in the (ongoing!) Capital Campaign, then more furniture, artwork, signage, and items for the outside deck, Teen Room, Maker Space and Children's Department may be purchased. The Library Board (including the ECCS Executive Director, Joanne Kelleher, who serves on this board) will be developing a strategic plan in 2025 with feedback from the public.

ECCS Office Hours at the Southington Public Library – The ECCS will be in the Children's Department from 9:30 to 12 on Wednesday, January 15th. Stop by and ask your questions.

The Anxious Generation Book Discussion - The ECCS, Southington Public Library and Southington Public School district are partnering on a 4-night event around the book The Anxious Generation. This will run from mid-January until mid-March. Details should be announced soon.

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