The Half-Day Program is a Success!
We are so pleased to report that we had a fantastic first week in our half-day program. Both Miss Rachel and Mr. Sean have reported that they are in love with their children who did a great job becoming a part of their new classrooms. We each had several opportunities to be in the classrooms and on the playground with our new half-dayers and were so blessed to see so many smiles, receive so many hugs, and witness such a smooth transition. One of our new children wore a dress this week that read: HAPPY EVERYTHING! That pretty much sums up our wonderful week 1!
On site we have had an equally successful week. We now have 3 buildings- some with walls, others with walls and siding, and one with walls, siding, and windows! It is just thrilling for us to drive by and see the changes happening daily.
We also purchased our commercial kitchen equipment this week! We took Chef Nate on a field trip and watched him as he explored the equipment and machinery and utensils. It was not that different than watching his sweet son explore his new classroom as he became a Preschooler recently. Like father, like son and so much fun to be a part of their lives. We just can't wait for Nate to be a daily component of the school.
Glimpse:
September 27th – Back to School Night from 4 – 6pm. This is a parents only event. We will begin with a large group meeting to talk about the new building and the transition as well as discuss the children’s portfolios. Everyone, including families who have not yet joined us is welcome to come for this portion. After, our current parents will be meeting with their child’s teachers for a classroom activity.
October 23rd – Fall Festival and Bonfire The Fall Festival will begin at 3:30 and will be for our currently enrolled children. We would love for everyone, including new families, alumni, future families, neighbors to join us for the bonfire that night. We will begin gathering around 6pm down at the field.
Showing posts with label Half-day Program. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Half-day Program. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
WALLS!!!!
We have walls! We are so excited that we cannot even express it in words. Please PLEASE drive by and see the progress of the week.
There are LIMITED spaces available in the half-day program for September. Please contact us ASAP to enroll. We will write a mid-week blog on Wednesday with photos of the new rooms. You are also welcome to stop by to see them yourself. They are ADORABLE and we are very excited to see how Rachel and Sean put them together next week.
Glimpse: We want to use this glimpse to share with you our gratitude for the tremendous generosity of our community. We have been receiving many, many donations of toys and interesting pieces of furniture for many months now. One family in particular (they have asked to remain unnamed) has gone above and beyond and we are just so thankful. To those of you asking about where to leave donations, we are very happy and thankful for any of the following items:
1. Outgrown toys.
2. Children's or parenting books.
3. Unique or interesting pieces of furniture big or small- those pieces are what make our program's appearance charming.
4. Kitchen equipment and pots, pans, baking dishes, utensils, etc.
5. Interesting window coverings.
The truth is that we will accept just about any donation and find something wonderful to do with it. As you know, we like to take unusual items and find strange places for them. We are just so thankful that so many of you are thinking of us and helping us to get ready for our opening.
At this point we are still being told that our time line has not changed and that they are hoping for a November certificate of occupancy with a worst case scenario of December 13th. The great news is that we can open the buildings one at a time and we will do exactly that starting with the big classroom building provided that nothing changes the order of building completion. We are truly confident in this time line.
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Half-day Program is Coming Together Beautifully.
Mr. Sean and Ms. Rachel are meeting and planning and thinking about room designs. The classrooms will be painted in the days to come and the decorations are being collected and prepared.
When we considered the half-day program manager/after-school program manager position, there was no question for us that it would be Sean Kehoe. Sean is a wonderful, teacher- we understand that. He is absolutely beloved among the current families and if there is any surprise among the current families it is about our decision to remove him from the classroom where he has just flourished. What they may or may not know is that Sean is also among the best-versed in the child
care licensing laws and their application on the staff.
He is also among our strongest emergency responders and in fact, if we are being honest, we will tell you that we call on him first in most emergency situations. That is a very important part of our decision, but Sean has also been, on many occasions, willing to challenge the beliefs of others in order to do what he has considered to be the best thing for the children and the program. Even when it made him less than popular to do so for a short while. We don't want to give the impression that anyone on the staff is not interested in the best for the children and the school, it is just that we all have different ideas about what that is and not many are willing to put themselves personally on the line in the way that Sean has consistently demonstrated.
In addition, while all of our staff go above and beyond for the school (working at home and on the weekends, calling from garage sales to beg for something that one child will "Just LOVE" that the school just has to have, etc., Sean has consistently been willing to get out of bed in the middle of the night to help out a family, or the school, he spent weeks (after working his normal hours) here building the infant classroom and now the half-day rooms. He never says no, always says yes (and does so willingly), and goes above and beyond even the above and beyond in some cases. We have no question that his dedication to the success of the program will be unwavering.
Sean is currently completing his undergraduate degree in early childhood education while also completing the state requirements for administrators. He is doing that out of his own drive to complete the administration work and not because he is required to do so to manage the program. He far exceeds the state requirements and even best practice for program managers.
The truth is that there may be a better educated management candidate out there, but there is no one better prepared to manage and implement the Little School half-day program than Sean. He will do a wonderful job and the children will be safe in his care. We are sure of it.
Sean will begin to transition to his new role with a three month training period that we will begin on August 24th. Sean will be working very closely with both of us as we work through his training together. Once the Waterstone campus opens we will continue to work very closely with Sean in an ongoing capacity as his program directors both at the half-day program, and at Waterstone where he will also be managing our after-school program. In fact, all of the leadership team will work
closely with Sean supporting the both the half-day and after school programs. This team includes:
Jennifer and Christa- Program Directors
Wendy Vavrousek- Overall Program Manager
Joann Milano- Human Resources Manager
Mary Swanson- Admissions Manager
We hope that you will contact us directly with any additional questions or concerns about any of these issues.
* We had another great week on the Waterstone site. Please check back
next week for additional information about Waterstone.
When we considered the half-day program manager/after-school program manager position, there was no question for us that it would be Sean Kehoe. Sean is a wonderful, teacher- we understand that. He is absolutely beloved among the current families and if there is any surprise among the current families it is about our decision to remove him from the classroom where he has just flourished. What they may or may not know is that Sean is also among the best-versed in the child
care licensing laws and their application on the staff.
He is also among our strongest emergency responders and in fact, if we are being honest, we will tell you that we call on him first in most emergency situations. That is a very important part of our decision, but Sean has also been, on many occasions, willing to challenge the beliefs of others in order to do what he has considered to be the best thing for the children and the program. Even when it made him less than popular to do so for a short while. We don't want to give the impression that anyone on the staff is not interested in the best for the children and the school, it is just that we all have different ideas about what that is and not many are willing to put themselves personally on the line in the way that Sean has consistently demonstrated.
In addition, while all of our staff go above and beyond for the school (working at home and on the weekends, calling from garage sales to beg for something that one child will "Just LOVE" that the school just has to have, etc., Sean has consistently been willing to get out of bed in the middle of the night to help out a family, or the school, he spent weeks (after working his normal hours) here building the infant classroom and now the half-day rooms. He never says no, always says yes (and does so willingly), and goes above and beyond even the above and beyond in some cases. We have no question that his dedication to the success of the program will be unwavering.
Sean is currently completing his undergraduate degree in early childhood education while also completing the state requirements for administrators. He is doing that out of his own drive to complete the administration work and not because he is required to do so to manage the program. He far exceeds the state requirements and even best practice for program managers.
The truth is that there may be a better educated management candidate out there, but there is no one better prepared to manage and implement the Little School half-day program than Sean. He will do a wonderful job and the children will be safe in his care. We are sure of it.
Sean will begin to transition to his new role with a three month training period that we will begin on August 24th. Sean will be working very closely with both of us as we work through his training together. Once the Waterstone campus opens we will continue to work very closely with Sean in an ongoing capacity as his program directors both at the half-day program, and at Waterstone where he will also be managing our after-school program. In fact, all of the leadership team will work
closely with Sean supporting the both the half-day and after school programs. This team includes:
Jennifer and Christa- Program Directors
Wendy Vavrousek- Overall Program Manager
Joann Milano- Human Resources Manager
Mary Swanson- Admissions Manager
We hope that you will contact us directly with any additional questions or concerns about any of these issues.
* We had another great week on the Waterstone site. Please check back
next week for additional information about Waterstone.
