Menchaca Early Childhood Center

Cardinal Spotlight 1/15

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Rey Medina-Olveda
Rey is very bright and a sweetheart to his classmates. Rey comes into class with a smile everyday! He has been very helpful with other classmates making sure they know what page to be on or what letters to write.
Melanie Perez-Huerta
Ms. Melanie Perez-Huerta is one of our Teacher of the Year Nominees. She has been at Menchaca for 3 years and is one of our Spirit Team sponsors. Ms. Perez organized this year’s Trunk or Treat event and is always willing to support the campus, students, and families. She’s built strong bonds with students and relationships with families. We are incredibly lucky to have Ms. Perez as a part of our Menchaca family.

Cardinal Spotlight 12/11

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Rowan Simmons

Rowan is a respectful friend!! Always willing and ready to participate during lessons. Rowan is always helpful to his teacher and peers. Rowan is a compassionate learner who loves to ask questions and thinks out of the box. Way to go Rowan for being student of the week!!

Guillermo Zavala

Mr. Zavala is one of our Teacher of the Year Nominees. He also serves as Team Lead and mentors fellow staff. Mr. Zavala has a humble and loving spirit that puts children and families at ease. He builds strong relationships with his students and is in tune with their social, emotional, and academic needs. Mr. Zavala is an asset to the Menchaca family and we are so glad he is here!

The Benefits of SEL and Why It’s Integrated into Our Curriculum

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Social emotional learning (SEL) is a process through which children and adults develop the fundamental skills for life effectiveness.

According to the Texas Pre-Kindergarten Guidelines, early experiences influence brain development, establishing the neural connections that provide the foundations for language, reasoning, problem solving, social skills, behavior, and emotional health. All children benefit from direct social skills instruction, explicit teaching, and repeated opportunities to practice skills. The development of these personal and social skills enables children to a build a sense of who they are and what they can do. Children who can follow directions, communicate their wants and needs effectively, and get along with other children are more prepared to enter an academic environment as school-ready. Additional information about the SEL learning standards in the Texas Pre-Kindergarten Guidelines

Impact of SEL

Behavior: Social skills and behavior directly impact academic achievement in pre-kindergarten and beyond. 9% reduction in discipline referrals, 10% reduction in emotional distress, fewer disruptive classroom behaviors prevents and reduces bullying

Academic Achievement: SEL instruction has a positive impact on academic achievement. Students receiving systematic SEL instruction showed an 11% increase in academic performance. SEL increases student engagement and motivation to learn.

The foundational SEL domains included in the Texas Pre-Kindergarten Guidelines are:

  • Self-Concept Skills: self-awareness of one’s feelings, thoughts, abilities, likes, and dislikes, as well as awareness of one’s body in space.
  • Self-Regulation Skills: social awareness of classroom rules and routines, opportunities to expand their attention span, and build self-control and learn acceptable and unacceptable ways of dealing with social and emotional stress and/or excitement.
  • Relationships with Others: children develop friendships with peers and increase their feelings of comfort, pleasure, and confidence in their social world as they build a sense of empathy and caring for others.
  • Social Awareness Skills: support child-child and child-teacher interactions while deepening their understanding that others have perspectives and feelings that are different from their own.

Lifelong Impact: SEL has long term benefits including higher education levels, better paying jobs, and healthier relationships at home and at work.

Career Readiness: SEL develops skills for college, career, and military readiness, such as complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration.

Staff: Teacher turnover costs $7.3 billion dollars. SEL reduces teacher stress and improves morale.

Climate & Connectedness: SEL improves school climate and increases connectedness. Students who feel connected to school have better attendance and are less likely to engage in substance abuse and other high risk behaviors.

MECC Celebrates World Nursery Rhyme Week

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The global pandemic has had a deep and widespread impact on early childhood development and education including crucial language and communication skills, literacy, and socialization.

World Nursery Rhyme Week is a fun, enjoyable initiative aimed at children from newborn to 7 years-old and participation is free of charge. Nursery rhymes help to boost early language, communication and literacy skills in a way that is exciting and engaging for young children. We were excited to celebrate World Nursery Rhyme Week and the impact nursery rhymes have on our Cardinals. Nursery rhymes provide bite-sized learning opportunities for young children to develop key developmental skills and can often be the trigger for hours of creative and open-ended play. They are a powerful learning source in early literacy and enable children to become interested in the rhythm and patterns of language.

Cardinal Spotlight 11/28

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cardinal spotlight student and teacher image

Sophia Camacho

Sophia is a very respectful student.  She knows how to take turns with her classmates and waits patiently with an open heart. She is always setting an example for her classmates and is a model student in class. We are excited to have Sophia at MECC.

Adrienne Ortiz

Ms. Ortiz is one of our Teacher of the Year Nominees. Ms. Ortiz is a phenomenal teacher who builds exceptionally strong relationships with each of her students. She communicates well with families, is compassionate and consistent, and engages students in learning that is not only hands-on, but minds-on, too. Each and every day Ms. Ortiz is the first to offer help, give assistance to a colleague, and go above and beyond. We are honored to recognize Ms. Ortiz.
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