MCDC News

MCDC Families,

It is that time of year again where we come together to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital!  Our Annual Trike-A-Thon will take place this year on Thursday April 4th.  This will be our 19th year to participate in this event!

The first thing you can do to support this event is visit https://stjude.org/trike, find our event and register your child. Even if your child is not actually participating in riding a tricycle that day, you can still raise money!  You can collect donations online or bring them to the center and place in the Trike-A-Thon box located in the front lobby.  Send your link to friends and family and post on social media.  You can even order your prizes online this year!  Our goal this year is $5000!!!  The classroom that raises the most money will get a pizza party!!

This year’s event holds a special place in our hearts, as one of our own sweet children is currently receiving services from St. Jude.  Her story is below.  Let’s really show our support for this family and all the other families who find themselves having to make drastic changes to their everyday lives.

Details for the day of the event:

The event will start at 9:00am and last until 11:00am.  We will need the front parking lot cleared by 8:50am.  Please make arrangements to have your child dropped off and your vehicle moved by 8:50am.  If you are coming to the event to watch your child ride, please park next door at the medical center.  The front parking will be unavailable from 8:50am-11:00am.  Please keep this in mind if you will be arriving late that day or have an appointment.

Preschool: You may bring a tricycle, scooter, bicycle for your child to ride.  Just not any motorized vehicles. J  We will have designated areas in the front for you to park your child’s bike.  Please be sure to label their bike and provide a helmet for them to wear.  Preschool C will be riding from 9:00am-9:30am, Preschool B from 9:45am-10:15am, and Preschool A from 10:30am-11:00am.  We would love for you to come cheer them on!

Toddlers & Explorers:

You may bring in a riding toy for your child to play with on the playground the day of the event.  You may drop off their riding toy on their playground that morning so it is available for them to ride when their class goes outside.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Sarah’s Story

My daughter’s name is Sarah Catherine Joye and she has Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH) Cancer.  Sarah’s cancer has formed lesions in her skull and facial bones. If left untreated, it would progress to other organ systems.  Sarah was diagnosed at 2 months and care for her condition began immediately by St Jude’s Hospital here in Huntsville Alabama.  Sarah’s LCH was originally thought to be limited to her skin but at approximately 18 mouths of age, lesions formed in her skull.  PET, CT and MRI scans were performed at St Jude’s in Memphis, TN indicating progression of the LCH in several bones. Sarah had surgery /biopsy of the lesion in her skull which required a titanium plate to replace the structure from the bone loss. She also had a second surgery to place a port in her chest allowing intravenous access for her to begin chemotherapy.  Sarah will receive Chemo each week at St Jude’s in Huntsville and return to Memphis every 12 weeks for PET scans and further evaluation.  Sarah also has Cystic Fibrosis (CF) so her blood counts are followed closely to prevent pulmonary infections.  St Jude’s provides advanced comprehensive care for their patients and provides housing and support for the family’s, regardless of a family’s insurance status or their ability to pay for treatment, giving every child hope for a future.    

MCDC Parents:

Due to the closure of Marshall Space Flight Center, MCDC will be closing today at 2:30pm.  Please make arrangements to have your children picked up and out of the building by 2:30pm.  Thank you and please stay safe!

Good morning MCDC Families!

This year our center is up for reaccreditation and we have been given our two week window for the visit.  We will have two validators here sometime between March 25th and April 5th.  So if you see two ladies that are unfamiliar to you in and out of the classrooms, you will know their purpose here. J

With our visit quickly approaching, we would love some help with a few items.  These can be done during operating hours, or weekend days with coordination with me:

1.  We have two cots the need to be repaired.  They are located in the front lobby.
2. We have a kitchen set for Explorer A that needs to be assembled.
3. We need the playground equipment (particularly the preschool) power washed or scrubbed.
4. We have a wooden bench outside the preschool playground that needs to be put in the dumpster and two rugs on the back playground that need to go to the dumpster.
5. We have a mat that needs to be repaired, located in the front lobby.

Please let me know if you can help with any of these items.  If you can, please also check with your child’s teacher to see if they need anything done in their classroom.  Thank you!!!

We will be celebrating the Week of the Young Child this year April 1st-April 5th.   What exactly is the Week of the Young Child you may ask??

The Week of the Young Child™ is an annual celebration hosted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) celebrating early learning, young children, their teachers, and families. We're so excited for a week-long celebration of our youngest learners!

Attached are the activities that we have planned for the week. Please let me know if you have any questions!  I will be sending out reminders of the activities as the week progresses.  Please also check your child’s classroom for opportunities to sign up.

A few important notes: the day of the picnic, everyone (excluding creepers and infants) will need to bring a packed lunch and drink.  Please make sure that nothing you pack for your child has nuts or was processed in a plant containing nuts.  Some suggestions for a packed lunch: lunchmeat, cheese, fruit, pepperoni, yogurt, crackers, veggies, etc…

There are several activities where if you have multiple children enrolled, you will feel pulled in different directions.  We are fine with you taking a sibling to another class; however, please make sure their teacher is informed of their whereabouts, and if you take a younger child to an older siblings class, please keep a close eye on them as the materials are not age appropriate.

Have a great week!

MCDC Parents:

Please join us for a GREEN EGGS & HAM BREAKFAST this Friday morning from 7:45am-8:30am to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday.  Children will be served breakfast as normal in their classrooms.  Cecilia, Melissa and I will be serving up Green Eggs and Ham in the cafeteria.  Come by, fix a plate and join your child in their classroom for breakfast!

Please let me know by responding to the email if you will be joining us.  We want to make sure we have enough for everyone!

It is also Read Across America Day!   If you have time, read aloud to your child before leaving for work.  Or stop by and read before naptime.  Whatever time during the day that is convenient for you!

MCDC will be closed Tuesday January 29, 2019.  Please check 256-544-8609, 256-544-8607, and 256-544-8626 for updates for Wednesday.  I will also send out a reminder through the Remind app text alerts and will post on our Facebook page.

This is a message from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Emergency Notification System.  Due to the expected weather event, MSFC will be closed for business on Tuesday, January 29, 2019. If you have a current telework agreement, you are expected to telework or take annual leave. Please be sure to take your laptop and required items to comply with your telework agreement. Employees without a telework agreement will be on excused leave. A decision regarding Wednesday’s working conditions will be made by Center Management on Tuesday and will be conveyed through the various forms of communication. Employees are reminded to continue to monitor local news and media for updates, or call the MSFC Information line at (256) 544-4357, Option 5.

MCDC Parents,

Due to the potential risk of inclement weather tomorrow, I highly suggest that you sign up for our text alerts.  Please text: @mcdcf to 81010.  This is the best way to get urgent announcements from MCDC.

You may also join our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/marshallchilddevelopmentcenter/?ref=your_pages

In the event that something happens after hours, I will post in these two places, as well as leave voice mails for the numbers 256-544-8609, 256-544-8626, and 256-544-8607.

Please let me know if you have any questions!