PURPOSE
The purpose of the preschool is to provide an early learning experience
in a Christian environment. We encourage a
lively awareness, on the part of individual children and their parents,
of God's love for them as unique persons.
St. Peter's Preschool environment provides:
*
An atmosphere of love, where children are encouraged to explore and
discover while being treated with courteous and
compassionate tenderness.
* An atmosphere of patience, allowing unhurried responses to the natural inquisitiveness of each child.
An atmosphere of understanding, where children may develop a true sense of values.
An atmosphere of warm and active cooperation between parents and teachers,
which affirms the child as the most
important concern of home and school.
. . .
EXTENDED DAY
An extended day program is offered on selected afternoons during the
week. The children have the option of staying
until 3:00 p.m. Each child brings a lunch from home. There is an additional
tee for extended day.
Eating lunch together family style gives us the opportunity to discuss
foods, nutrition and age appropriate table
manners. After lunch, our program includes a brief resting time, additional
art activities, stories, creative movement and
outdoor play. Extended day is an excellent opportunity for children
to experience a multi-age group setting.
FEES
The September (or first month of attendance) and June tuition payments
1/2 months) are paid at the time the
Enrollment Forms are due. Remaining tuition is due on the first of
each month. The fee schedule is listed on the
Admission Agreement which accompanies this document.
Our preschool offers a carefully planned program facilitated by qualified
staff members. It includes creative
experiences which stimulate social, emotional, spiritual, physical
and intellectual development. Our expenses are fixed
for the year. No financial adjustment is made for absence. If your
child is unable to remain in school for the full year,
two weeks written notice is required.
at
ISIS
Equipment Staff Extended Day Fees
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
The preschool provides developmentally appropriate opportunities for
growth by active participation in the following
areas of learning:
1. Affirming our relationship with God-Good morning songs about God
Music activities and songs of praise Prayer
before snack and lunch Christian celebrations and singing in church
Sharing God's love with one another
2. Discovering our world-Our garden - seeds and plants Classroom pets
Observation of natural events - weather,
magnetism, gravity Health related activities - food and hygiene Discovery
Tables using all our senses Cooking projects
Focus on animals, the life cycle, space travel
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3. Living harmoniously in God's world-Multicultural focus - stories,
songs, classroom materials Self discovery -
awareness of body parts and sounds, self portraits Cooperative interaction
- clean-up, dramatic play, leadership roles
Using friendly words to resolve conflict Sharing and taking turns
4. Expressing ourselves creatively-Storytelling, library time, imaginative
play, block building Language acquisition -
discussion, story writing, share time Music - listening, singing, rhyme
and rhythm, creative movement Artistic
expression - painting, collage, drawing, cutting, playdough
5. Expanding our cognitive skills-Name recognition, letter recognition
and sounds Counting activities, calendar, number
recognition, patterning, sequencing Following directions, focusing
on tasks, developing concentration skills
All activities in the program are designed to encourage a life-long love for the learning process.
,
Program Activities
ARRIVALS
Our staff members prepare rooms and materials for optimum learning environments
from 8:30 - 9:00 a.m. There is no
supervision for children prior to 9:00 a.m. It is important that arriving
children find areas and activities ready so that
teachers may be available to greet children and give them full attention.
Parents are asked to bring children to the play
yard gate to be greeted each morning. This is an important time to
exchange brief bits of information to enhance the
child's day. However, conferences or comments on behavior are best
done in mini-conferences between staff and
parent alone.
DEPARTURES
Following share time, the children pick up their wraps, red bag and
completed work. They will then sit on the rug until
a teacher, who recognizes the person picking them up, calls their names
individually. Each child must be signed out by
this person. Please inform the director of any change in person picking
up the child. Children become concerned if they
are left at the end of the school day: so it is important that the
care-giver return on time. For apprehensive new
children, it is comforting to be among the first to be picked up. We
request that adults resist the temptation to peek in
the window, as this distracts the children from hearing and following
directions given by the teacher. Departure time is
12:00 noon for regular days, 3:00 p.m. for extended days.
REGISTRATION - ADMISSION
Children of all cultures, races and faiths are welcome to attend St.
Peter's. The preschool is open to children 2 1/2
land toilet trained} through 5 years of age. The annual calendar is
designed to coordinate with the Palos Verdes
Peninsula Unified School District calendar and holiday schedule.
Parents are requested to bring children to visit the school prior to
enrollment. While visiting, the child may participate in
activities and become acquainted with the facilities and staff. Parents
may ask questions and exchange any information
which will be helpful in meeting the child's individual needs. Forms
for registration will be given when the Application
for Admission, Admission Agreement and registration fee have been received.
Forms required for enrollment include:
Identification and Emergency Information, Family and Health History
Information, Physician's Report, Authorization
To Consent To Treatment, Notification of Parent's Rights, and Personal
Rights. These forms are to be returned to the
school by the designated deadline. A check, payable to St. Peter's
Preschool, for 1 1/2 months tuition must
accompany these forms.
Registration - Admission
.
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BACKGROUND
The school was established in 1972 out of a need for a preschool in
this area. It serves families from many surrounding
communities including Palos Verdes, Torrance, San Pedro, and Lomita.
The school is an extension of the church's program of Christian Education.
A committee composed of church staff,
church members, and parents of the school govern the school. It is
non-profit and is financed by tuitions.
It maintains a well qualified staff of teachers, assistants and involved
parents and provides small groupings for the
children.
PHILOSOPHY
The school strives to create a warm, loving community where children
through active involvement with the physical
environment, learn to be self sufficient, solve problems, interact
with peers in positive ways and generally grow in ail
areas of development. The hope is that children and parents will experience
themselves as worthwhile persons and
develop their own unique potential.
The group experience in school provides opportunities for active play
which encourages children to grow socially,
emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally and creatively. Each
of these areas of development builds on the other.
Through peer interaction children not only develop socially, but develop
an ability to think and solve problems. Mental
structures are developed as children relate to others and manipulate
materials in the environment. Children develop
their physical abilities and body awareness as they use the outdoor
spaces to test and expand their own bodies.
Children's emotional well being is developed as adults: help children
become self sufficient, set limits and tasks which
are appropriate for the child's stage of development, respect a child's
desires and individual capabilities, listen to what
children say, and encourage creative self learning. Through a spiritual
awareness each person is regarded as being
important. This provides a basis for people to care about each other
in a meaningful way.
BACKGROUND
PHILOSOPHY