news & updates Weekly Briefings Weekly Briefing: Volume 2, Number 34
| Welcome to The Weekly Briefing, featuring news from Children's Futures, updates about our community partners' activities and links to recent news articles about early childhood health and development. |
| Weekly Briefing: Volume 2, Number 34 |
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October 3, 2008 In This Issue
Impact Of Children's FuturesSecond Trenton Parent Empowerment Summit Focuses on Learning The Second Annual Parent Empowerment Summit at Joyce Kilmer School last Saturday attracted parents, grandparents, teachers and administrators who joined together for a day-long session about the new curriculum guides used throughout the Trenton Public School System. Speakers, including two Children's Futures' Board members, Trenton School Superintendent Rodney Lofton and Trenton Mayor and Douglas H. Palmer, encouraged parents to partner with and guide their children along the learning continuum. While their parents were engaged in this day-long learning session, their children were enjoying food, fun and games under the auspices of the Trenton Department of Recreation, Natural Resources and Culture at Jefferson School. The Summit also featured Teacher Counselor Barbara Biggart of the Miami-Dade County Parent Academy, which operates this nationally-known innovative training program serving parents at schools in the Miami area. Mayor Palmer has been encouraging efforts by community members, faith-based leaders, educators and parents to examine how the Parent Academy concept might be adapted for Trenton. During break-out sessions at the Summit, parents and grandparents took the opportunity to engage educators in group as well as one-on-one sessions to learn more about the expectations for students under the unified core curriculum standards. As one official noted during the event, even parents of newborns and toddlers attended to get an advanced look at the programs their children will be participating in following pre-school. The Annual Parent Empowerment Summit, which held its inaugural session last year at the Trenton War Memorial, is a project of the Trenton CHANGE Coalition comprised of parents, teachers, school administrators and community groups like Children's Futures that are committed to improving the quality of education for all of Trenton's children. Generous donations were made by Educational Testing Service, CVS Caremark/CVS Pharmacy, the Trenton Public School District and Wegmans to support this year's Summit.
(Photo Credit Kent Ashworth-City of Trenton) Child Care Connection's 20th Annual Conference for Early Care & Education Child Care Connection's 20th annual conference for early care and education at the Hyatt Regency Princeton last week drew more than 175 early care and education professionals, 26 of whom were able to participate through the support of Children's Futures. The 26 included 11 family child care providers and 15 center staff. The conference, titled Energizing Mind, Body, Spirit, presented opportunities for professionals from the child care field to network to participate in workshop sessions addressing various topics from the field. Joan Buzick, award winning author, composer, and authority on early childhood education, presented the keynote address on the positive energy of music in the lives of children, families and educators. Workshop sessions offered such topics as positive communication, meditation, nutrition, and science for young children. There was also an administrator's track for center directors. Child Care Connection, Mercer County's child care resource and referral agency, is Children's Futures' partner in working to achieve the goal of improving child care systems in Trenton.
(Photo Credits-Colleen Gallagher) Longtime Children's Futures' Board Members Honored for Service Three original members of the Children's Futures' Board of Directors, whose terms end this coming December 31, were honored this week for their long service to Trenton. Board Chair Christine Grant and members William Watson and Dr. William Foster received praise from fellow Board members including Children's Futures' President Floyd K. Morris, Jr., who said, "Their passion for excellence has been an invaluable source of strength for our efforts. The individual and collective imprint they have had on our work on behalf of Trenton's children and families is wide and deep. We will always be thankful for their leadership and commitment to the vision, mission and ideals of Children's Futures." For background information on these dedicated members of Children's Futures' Board, click here.
Center-Based Programs for Children and Families for October Free programs this month at Children's Futures' Family Success/Parent Child Centers and the Father Center offer families the information, resources and support to be empowered to succeed in life. Children's Futures' partners in each Trenton ward offer sessions to improve literacy, enhance employment opportunities, promote health, safety and good nutrition, address behavioral health issues, and encourage parent/child bonding and educational achievement. To find out about October programs, please go here and click on a specific center. For additional information, please contact Tonya Bellamy at 609-695-1977 (ext. 109) or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Open House for Mercer Cyber-Space Resource Nets Interested Residents Dozens of residents and organizational representatives turned out for the recent open house at the Capitol County Children's Collaborative (CCCC) to learn about the electronic, web-based resource directory for Mercer County launched earlier this year. CCCC is providing technical assistance to Children's Futures in the development of a portable, updateable resource directory for Trenton families and social service agencies that will be unveiled later this year. For more information about MercerResourceNet, please contact Tara Granaldi at 609-584-0888 (ext. 105).
Links To Print/Web/Electonic Coverage
Upcoming Community Events CalendarOctober 2008
November 2008
December 2008
Ongoing Community Activities
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For a complete calendar of events, please refer to our calendar page.
About Children's Futures
Established in 2001 with major support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Children's Futures is a nonprofit organization that works city-wide in Trenton, N.J. to improve child health and development outcomes. Through an unprecedented collaboration among public agencies and nonprofit organizations, Children's Futures seeks to strengthen parenting, increase access to primary quality health care and child care systems, and increase social supports for families, so that every child in Trenton enters preschool healthy and ready to learn.
About The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime.