Wreath Pick-up, book sale and parent coffee

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break, celebrating the gifts we all have.

Just a few reminders for this week...

• The Christmas wreaths have been delivered and are ready for pick-up.  You may find your wreaths under the stairwell at the entrance of the school.  They are bagged and marked with your names.
• The Board is holding a book sale this week.  Please come to the table set up by the mosaic, browse the selections there, and place your orders.  Your books will be delivered the week following the end of the sale.  This sale will benefit the teachers' discretionary fund (which allows the teachers to purchase special games, toys and materials for their classrooms).
• Join the Board of Trustees for a Parent Coffee on Wednesday and Thursday (November 30 and December 1) at 9:30 a.m. in the Parish Hall.  This is a perfect time to meet other parents and learn about ways to get involved in your child's school.  At this meeting you will also have a chance to share ideas about future parent coffees and topics you would like to discuss.

Have comments about any articles?

Hello SPCNS families,
We've received word that some of you have left comments on our blog and we have not responded.  I am truly sorry for this.  I check our blog on an ongoing basis, and according to it, there have not been any comments posted.  I am in the process of investigating why your comments/questions are not coming through.  In the meantime, if you have questions, comments or concerns regarding any of our posts, please send them to my email address at sberg@spcns.org.  I hope to find a resolution to this problem.

thanks,
Sara Berg

News from ECELS-Healthy Childcare Advisors re. swaddling.

Swaddling (wrapping tightly) in a blanket calms many young babies. However, improper use of this practice increases risk of harm. If the blanket is too loose, it can move up to cover the infant’s face. Loose blankets around the infant’s head are a risk factor for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS.) Swaddling may cause overheating, another SIDS risk factor. If the blanket wraps the legs so they are not free to move, researchers find the baby is more likely to develop hip disease. Having the legs able to freely move around and be in a frog-leg position helps the hip socket to form properly. This keeps the top of the leg from slipping out of the socket.
       Swaddling in the child care setting is not recommended. (See STANDARD 3.4.1.2 in Caring for Our Children, 3rd edition, 2011.) If a particular infant needs to be swaddled to settle for sleep, then that child should have a physician recommendation for the practice. That child’s teachers/caregivers should learn how to use the diamond-shaped technique. This involves putting the baby’s head above the folded-down corner of a square blanket. Then bring the right corner of the blanket over the baby’s right arm, under the left arm and left side. Next, fold the left corner of the blanket over the baby’s left arm and under the right side. Fold the bottom of the blanket loosely so that the baby’s legs can bend up and out. Tuck the bottom of the baby under the baby.
       Be sure to use the back-to-sleep placement of babies in their cribs. Swaddled babies are less likely to roll over, but if a baby does roll over after being placed in the back-to-sleep position, there is no need to roll the baby over to the back-to-sleep position. Remember: no loose bedding or soft objects in the crib.