MRS. CHEN

MY FAVORITES

Food: sushi

Drink: seltzer water, cold brew coffee

Color: dusty rose, earth tones

Book: books turned into movies

Snack: dark chocolate, popcorn

Smell: peach

Season: Fall

Flower: peonies, roses

Hobby: making dog treats

Store: Amazon, Target

My Experience

My name is Sheena Chen.

I graduated from The College of New Jersey in 2011 with a dual

certification in P-3 Early Childhood Education and K-5 Elementary Education.

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In my early years in education, I was a paraprofessional in East Brunswick Schools for three years working in first, third, and cross-grade classrooms.

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I’ve been working in North Brunswick Schools for for 12 years. I taught one year of 3rd grade and four years of 2nd grade at Parsons Elementary School. This is my seventh year teaching in the Integrated Preschool Program.

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I love working at the NBTECC and look forward to having a wonderful year!

My Family

My husband (Mr. Chen) and dog (Miso)

I’m very close to my family - mom, dad, younger brother, and mother in law

My name is Madhuri Kulkarni. I have been working at

The Early Childhood Center in North Brunswick Township

Public Schools for 11 years.

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I’m married and have two kids. My son is an area manager and my daughter is in 12th grade in North Brunswick!

MORE ABOUT YOUR PARAPROFESSIONAL

My Experience

MEET YOUR SPECIAL AREA TEACHER

• Arrival, Dismissal, & Security (with photo ID)
• 8:25-8:40 Arrival - after 8:40 all children must be signed in via Main Office
• 3:05-3:15 Dismissal - all children must be signed out via Main Office
• Sign in at the front entrance upon entry

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• Absences
• Please report all absences to your child’s teacher directly AND to the absence line (732) 317-6300

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• Transportation
• Please contact 732-289-3026 for any transportation concerns

• Lunch & Snack Policy
• Lunch Option to Bring or Buy (Use parent portal to add funds to account)
• All Children Must Bring Water & Snack to School

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• Birthdays
• No edible items are permitted, welcome to send small non edible items (pencils, playdough, etc.)
• Parents invited to be a Guest Reader on child’s birthday

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• Medical
• Students must be fever, vomit, and diarrhea free for 24hrs without the use of medication before returning to school
• Nut free building

SCHOOL POLICIES

Arrival

Morning Routine, Toileting, Handwashing

Large Group/Morning Meeting (Greeting, Attendance, Shared Writing/Discussion)

60 min. Choice Time/Centers

10:30 am Snack & Books

Small Group Instruction

Read Aloud / Story Time

Gross Motor (Playground, Gym)

12:10-12:52 Toileting, Handwashing, Student Lunch

1 hour Rest Time

Toileting, Handwashing, Fine Motor Time/Table Toys*

Large Group/Closing Meeting (Round Up, Calendar)

Child Development with Mrs. Limaldi (Specials), Toileting, Handwashing

Toileting, Handwashing, Pack Up/Dismissal

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*Every Wednesday -

additional Child Development/Specials period with Mrs. Limaldi

Students should:

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1. Be kind and respectful to other students and adults

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1. Listen and follow directions

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1. Make safe choices at school and during play

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1. Take care of our classroom by cleaning up and using materials respectfully

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CONSISTENCY IS KEY!

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This program is designed to include preschool students of varying degrees of developmental readiness to optimize opportunities for students to learn and grow from one another’s strengths. Multi-sensory lessons are carefully planned and prepared to address all learning styles. Activities and materials integrate learning through the use of visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile experiences. Instruction is differentiated, allowing children to learn at their own pace. Student needs are addressed throughout the day during large group, small group and individual instruction.

Program Overview

Curricular adaptations and supplemental materials are used

whenever necessary to address specific student needs. Consistency, repetition, review and practice allows for mastery and maintenance of skills. Multiple measures of assessment are utilized to evaluate student progress.

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Students are provided with a balance of structure and flexibility to establish an optimal learning environment. Students are motivated through reinforcement of positive behaviors. Modeling and prompting techniques aim to improve social skills and increase functional communication. Specialists provide additional support when needed, to promote growth in all areas of development.

Program Overview

The Creative Curriculum is a comprehensive, scientifically based curriculum, which facilitates student growth and development through natural exploration and intentional teaching. Instruction occurs through Units of Study, in which children learn science and social studies content while developing skills in literacy, math, the arts, health, safety and physical education, approaches to learning, social/emotional, world language and technology.

Creative Curriculum

Child initiated learning is done through in depth explorations of study topics and the use of twelve interest areas (centers):

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Learning Expectations

• Blocks
• Dramatic Play (pretend/kitchen)
• Toys and Games (table toys)
• Art
• Literacy (library/writing)
• Discovery - Exploratory Sciences

• Sand & Water
• STEAM - Comprehensive Sciences
• Music and Movement
• Technology - iPads, NewLine Board
• Cooking
• Outdoors

Through play, child learn and develop:

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Cognitive Skills – Math and problem solving in a pretend grocery store

Physical Skills – balancing blocks, running on the playground, stringing beads, name writing

Social/Emotional Skills – playing together, sharing, answering questions and asking questions.

Literacy Skills – creating a menu for a pretend restaurant, recalling a story read aloud in the library center, learning to “read” the pictures/illustrations in a book.

New Vocabulary- words used while playing - paleontologist, engineer, architect, illustrator etc.

Learning Through Play

Building Language

Strong speech and language skills are key to kindergarten readiness and a good predictor for reading, writing, and social success. Below are some key communication skills examples of how we teach preschoolers:

1. Following Directions
• Classic games. Games such as Simon Says or Red Light, Green Light help your child listen, pay attention, and move while following one- and two-step directions.
2. Learning Songs and Rhymes - Young children love music. Singing nursery rhyme songs like Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Wheels on the Bus teaches them about different sounds and words. Singing songs and hearing rhymes will help children learn to read.
3. Building Vocabulary and Describing Objects - The more words a child is exposed to, the more words they’ll know! We keep the conversation going all day long, regardless of the activity.
4. Describing Emotions - Help children to express their own feelings and to talk about how others might be feeling.
5. Sequencing and Predicting - Sequencing is breaking down something (e.g., a task or story) into steps or parts—and then putting them in a logical order. Asking a child to select a favorite book. Read it together, and then talk about it. What came first? Next? Last? Predicting is making a guess about what will happen next.

Kickstart Literacy

• A play-based literacy curriculum
• The lessons incorporate movements, games, and hands-on�experiences to promote your child’s essential pre-reading skills,�such as recognizing letters and connecting them to sounds.

Kickstart Literacy

Introduces 4 components of early literacy

1. Phonological awareness - addresses rhyming alliteration, and segmenting and blending words and sounds
2. Phonemic awareness - introduces the individual sounds that make up words
3. Phonics - connects speech sounds to their corresponding letters
4. Writing - introduces the pre-writing strokes that will support children to later write all lowercase and uppercase�letters

Building Independent Learners

• It’s OK to make mistakes! Through mistakes, teachers can assess students’ skill levels and support them as needed
• In order to build independence, confidence, and problem solving skills, allow students to try themselves
• Support is provided as needed
• Examples - Unpacking, packing up, clean up, toileting & handwashing, eating, setting up rest mats, changing & wearing jackets, etc.

• We utilize the Teaching Strategies Gold Assessment tool to measure student progress on several objectives that correspond to the preschool domains previously mentioned- including Language, Cognitive, Literacy, Math, Physical, & Social/Emotional Development

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• Reporting periods will be three times a year.

Assessing & Reporting

• Folders - Please check them daily for important information and empty all artwork and flyers
• A Change in Dismissal - please send me a message, email or note in your child’s folder by 2:00pm. If I do not respond, call the main office.
• Family Picture - please send if you have not done so already
• Footwear - Please be mindful of the shoes you send your child in, as we play on the playground and in the gym
• Snack and Home Lunches - NUT FREE including Nutella/hazelnut spreads, please be mindful of ingredients in granola bars, yogurt toppers, cookies, etc.
• Lunches - Please complete selections and keep the lunch menu in folders as needed
• Water Bottles - Reusable and one that students can open independently. Please clean and fill them daily.
• Classroom Temperature - You can send in a sweatshirt or light jacket with zipper to keep at school – our room can get chilly especially after students wake from rest time.
• Valuables - Please keep toys, stuffed animals, and special jewelry at home.

REMINDERS

Preschool Family Handbook 2025-2026

Mrs. Chen’s LinkTree for all important resources in one place

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Arrival, Dismissal, & Security
• 8:25-8:40 Arrival - after 8:40 all children must be signed in via Main Office/Lobby
• 3:05-3:15 Dismissal - after 3:15 all children will be brought to the Main Office entrance

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• Absences
• Please report all absences to your child’s teacher directly and to the main office

• Lunch & Snack Policy
• Lunch Option to Bring or Buy (Use parent portal to add funds to account)
• Must bring a nut-free, healthy snack to school

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• Birthdays
• No edible items are permitted, welcome to send small non edible items (pencils, playdough, etc.)
• Parents invited to be a Mystery Reader on child’s birthday

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• Medical
• Students must be fever, vomit, and diarrhea free for 24 hours without the use of medication before returning to school

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SCHOOL POLICIES

Mrs. Chen’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mrs__Chen

Mrs. Chen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrschen_prek/

NBT Preschool Twitter: https://twitter.com/NBTECC

NBT Preschool Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbtecc

District Website: www.nbtschools.org

SOCIAL MEDIA

Let’s Connect!

Parent Square App

Have you completed the following…

• Sent a family photo
• Set up your ParentSquare App and notifications
• Check your emails to accept ReadyRosie and Family App invitations

Checklist

PARENT PORTAL

PLEASE REGISTER

Emergency contacts

Update Pick Up Permissions

Add Money to Lunch Account - Food Services

NBTECC 25 Linwood Place,

North Brunswick NJ 08902

Room 215

Parent Square

Email: schen@nbtschools.org

Building Principal & Supervisor of Preschool Programs

Mr. Scott Passner

spassner@nbtschools.org

732-317-6307

Because of our limited time together, I have been asked to have you submit all questions to me privately via Parent Square and email.

You are welcomed to schedule a phone call during my prep period or after school as needed. Fall conferences will take place in October.