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In Memoriam: Donna Chase
May 10, 2010
To All Members of the Shady Lane Community, Past & Present:
It is with the deepest feeling of sadness that we must inform all of you that Donna Chase died earlier today after a two-month struggle with leukemia.
Donna began her long relationship with Shady Lane as a parent, her sons Matthew and Alex having both graduated from the School. Already a talented teacher, Donna stayed on at Shady Lane after her sons moved on. Over the past 18 years, Donna served as an Educator with Penny Fahlman in the Older Threes; was the first Lead Educator in the Mixed Age Class (MAC), helping establish our continuing collaboration with the Watson Institute's LEAP Program; served as Co-Lead Educator with Maren Herman in the Young Threes; and, most recently, took on the challenge of establishing Shady Lane's second multi-age classroom, the Partners Class. From September 2007 until her diagnosis in March of this year, Donna led the Partners team, most recently with Amy Linder. As in every stage of her Shady Lane career, Donna relished a challenge, and created an environment that reflected her talents and strengths, embraced those of her fellow team members, and always engaged the interests and excitement of the children and their families.
In addition to creating a classroom that consistently made children and parents feel comfortable and challenged at the same time, Donna had a powerful influence over all of her colleagues at Shady Lane. Donna had an uncompromising approach to teaching and relationships, insisting on the best for all around her and holding expectations that were high but always developmentally appropriate, whether being applied to children or adults.
Beyond all of this, Donna was simply a wonderful person who was a joy to work with and a dedicated friend. While we will all grieve the loss of our friend for a long time, the impact of the strength and talent Donna brought to Shady Lane for so many years will long outlive the difficult times we'll face together in the coming days and weeks.
We share our condolences with Donna's husband, Bill; her sons, Matthew & Alex; her siblings and mother. We will be keeping them in our thoughts in the days to come.
Visitation will be at Freyvogel Funeral Home, 4900 Centre Avenue (corner of Centre & Devonshire), Thursday from 2:00-4:00 and 6:00-9:00. A funeral mass will be held at St. Bede Catholic Church, 509 Dallas Ave. in Point Breeze, Friday at 11:00.
The links below will take you to the obituaries published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on May 12 and 13.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10133/1057806-122.stm
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/obituaries/s_680813.html
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/postgazette/obituary.aspx?n=donna-m-chase&pid=142690859
Shady Lane to be Represented at PAEYC Conference
Four Shady Lane administrators and two Lead Educators will be making presentions at this year's bi-annual conference of the Pittsburgh chapter of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC). This year's conference, which is a joint effort of PAEYC and the Allegheny County Family Support Policy Board, is a two day event titled "Creativity: Where the Future Begins". The conference takes place May 14th and 15th at the Omni William Penn Hotel and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Shady Lane's sessions will include:
Friday, May 14th:
- "Child Assessment, Support Services, and the Role of Parents and Programs" UPDATE: Unfortunately, we will not be able to make this presentation, in order to attend the funeral of our friend and colleague, Donna Chase. Our hope will be to reschedule this event as a needs-based mastery-level workshop on site at Shady Lane at some future date.
Saturday, May 15th:
- "Using Light as a Language" presented by Older Threes Lead Educator Penny Fahlman. In this workshop, Penny will offer experiences using light that invite children and adults to think differently about familiar objects and about light itself; adopt or adapt a variety of light tools to enhance artistic and scientific experiences; and expand options for lighting techniques in their physical environment to support daily experiences, pace and tone of the group. Register for Workshop D16, from 8:30 am – 10:00 am.
- "Creative and Proactive Problem Solving with Young Children" presented by Maren Herman, Young Threes Co-Lead Educator. Participants will discover how to provide children with the tools, words and skills to be confident, successful problem solvers. Maren will feature role play, video clips of successful techniques, and discussion of scripted language throughout this session. Register for Workshop E4, from 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm.
- "The Top Five Practices that Make Us Professionals" presented by Patrick Webster, Administrative Director. Drawing on his experience as a teacher, administrator and attorney, Patrick will look at the practices common to other professions, and facilitate interactions to support the professional practices of early childhood educators and administrators and enhance the recognition of the field in our society. Register for Workshop F9, from 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm.
We are excited about our extensive participation in this year's PAEYC Conference, and hope to see many of you there. Please see the attachment for further details; visit www.pghaeyc.org for conference information or details on becoming a sponsor or exhibitor. The full Conference Brochure is available at PAEYC Conference Brochure.
Those with questions can call PAEYC at 412-421-3889.
Shady Lane Featured on PennAEYC Website
Shady Lane recently became one of three accredited programs featured on the website of the Pennsylvania State Chapter of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC). Please visit the PennAEYC site to see our profile.
PennAEYC Profile of Shady Lane School
We are proud to be recognized, not only locally but at the statewide level as well! Thanks to Kelly Johnson at PennAEYC and to Shady Lane's former Director, Linda Ehrlich, for making this recognition possible.
Shady Lane Web Site Wins Design Award
The Shady Lane Web site received a 2008 Best in Class Interactive Media Award (IMA) for its new design. The Best in Class award is the highest honor bestowed by the IMA. It represents the very best in planning, execution and overall professionalism. In order to win this award level, a site has to successfully pass through IMA's comprehensive judging process, an achievement only a fraction of sites in the IMA competition earn each year. The Web site was designed by local Internet marketing company, Elliance (www.elliance.com). Find out more about the awards at www.interactivemediaawards.com.
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We're updating our event calendar. Please check back soon for upcoming events. Look forward to seeing you!
