Hi FRIENDS,
Snow?! Too early! I hope everyone had a warm, safe start on this wintery morning. Let’s all cross our fingers that this is the last we see of snow until at least December!
This week started out truly wonderful when we flooded the halls of Tewksbury Memorial High School with Real Passion at the Little Sprouts CHILD Conference. It was such an honor to welcome you all, and, in true Little Sprouts fashion, the warmth and kindness I received made me feel very honored to be leading this organization. I cannot thank you enough. It was a wild success, and I look forward to next year’s celebration where we get to play and learn together again!
For this edition of FRIENDS Friday, I thought it would be appropriate to keep that Real Passion flowing. I received the following reflection from Katie-Leigh at Little Sprouts Medford, who has taken notice of one of her all-star coworkers:
Hi Melissa,
You may remember Miss Katerina from when you first met her as she was climbing over all of the construction work, hair flowing and fearless like something out of a Coca-Cola commercial to make her way for her first Little Sprouts interview.
Miss Katerina (or as the children in her Toddler 2 classroom refer to her as, Nina) is a fabulous example of our FRIENDS values. Katerina has such a warm and welcoming personality that makes all of our Little Sprouts families feel so welcomed. Every day she greats each family and is always having wonderful conversations with them. One of the children’s grandfathers recently started coming for pickup which he had been a bit nervous about as he only speaks Portuguese. Conveniently, that is one of the three languages that Katerina has learned! Seeing the first interaction between the two when he realized that Katerina could understand and speak to him was so heartwarming! His face absolutely lit up with excitement to have someone he could easily communicate with at his granddaughter’s school. Another instance that was seen just this week was when a mother came to pick up a bit early while the children were just starting snack. Miss Katerina invited the mother to come join her and the class at the table. Although that may seem simple to many, it really made this mother feel like part of the classroom and was great to see. On top of all of this fabulous parent engagement, Katerina has also really stepped up with learning more about the curriculum planning and has been doing a fabulous job with it so far! Missy and I are beyond proud of Miss Katerina and feel so lucky to have her as part of our team.
On Monday, we emphasized the meaning and the value of this year’s theme – It Starts With Us. How Katerina has carried herself in every facet of her role as a Toddler Teacher is a wonderful embodiment of this notion. By extending her contagiously bright, warm, and cheery attitude to children, parents, and coworkers alike, she is living the Little Sprouts FRIENDS Values in every way. Her dedication to making families feel welcome, whether it is their first pickup or their 50th, makes it no surprise to hear that this attitude has spilled over into her ambitious desire to learn and embrace our curriculum. Katerina has clearly recognized that her success begins with herself; her attitude, her dedication, and her ambition. She has seen a lot of success because of it, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you, Katerina!