St. Mary Elementary Early Childhood Center

Brenda Spees Director 442-6900 ext. 254 Home 554-8228

Pam Whelan 3 year old Preschool Teacher/ Jackie Froehlich Assistant

Donna Roberts 3 and 4 year old Preschool Teacher/ Kelli Walk Assistant

Rondia Cromika 4 year old Preschool Teacher/ Felicia LaBarge Assistant

Stacey Swift 4 year old Preschool Teacher /Paula Brandt Assistant

All teachers and assistants are degreed professionals with experience!

We are proud to be a 4 STAR Center! We have earned the highest award of 4 Stars in the State of Kentucky’s quality rating system. We are the only 4 star center in McCracken County, one of ten 4 star centers in the state, and the only Catholic preschool to have achieved this high honor. We are nationally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and licensed by the Cabinet for Human Resources to operate as a type 1 center. http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Instructional+Resources/Early+Childhood+Development/STARS++for+KIDS+NOW+(Quality+Rating+System).htm

Here at the St. Mary Early Childhood Center we provide a unique learning experience for children ages 3 to 5 with no regard to race, creed, religion or economic level. Our program nurtures the continuing growth of children’s knowledge and understanding of themselves and their world. We provide a safe, caring and stimulating environment where learning flourishes. We recognize that children are individuals and every child is unique. We accommodate the broad range of children’s needs, addressing the intellectual, emotional, physical and social aspects of each child as an individual.

The objective of the ECC is to offer a well-balanced curriculum in a Christian atmosphere. We cherish the opportunity to work with you and your child. We assure you of our sincerest efforts on his/her behalf at all times. The faculty and Staff of the ECC are dedicated to providing a positive, Christ-centered environment to develop growth and learning for your child.

We are licensed to operate by the Cabinet for Human Resources as a Type 1 facility, and have achieved two stars above minimum licensure requirements by the Kentucky Quality rating system. In addition we are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Our Goals and Curriculum Development:

We use an alphabet based learning curriculum, featuring High Reach Learning, Scholastic learning books such as Alpha-tales, Reading lines, and Alpha-pets manners books hat are introduced weekly. We have several books and characters that go along with each letter of the alphabet. This curriculum encourages development of readiness skills while helping teachers meet the individual need of your child. A variety of activities will be incorporated throughout each and every day centered around an alphabet theme. We will also incorporate numbers, shapes, colors, and holidays into these weekly activities.

Development of Social Responsibility Children are provided with experiences to help them learn to value and respect individual contributions as well as cultural identity.

Emotional and Social Development Our program seeks to develop a positive self-concept in every child. Children are given opportunities to gain confidence and competence in functioning, both alone and in cooperation with others.

Aesthetic and Artistic Development Children will be given opportunities to interpret their real and imagined world through experiences with the arts. The arts are a natural and essential part of the child’s development.

Physical Development and Well-Being Children are provided with experiences to help them learn about their growth and development, and about their own role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Intellectual Development The experiences and knowledge which young children bring to school, combined with their natural curiosity and sense of wonder, are the foundation for learning in the early years. Children are provided with opportunities to express their knowledge and thinking in a variety of ways.

Faith Development Children will use the “Christ Our Life” religion series; “God Made Me” for 3 year olds and “God Made the World” for 4 year olds. These bright colorful pages were written by the Sister of Notre Dame. Every child will receive a large, appealing picture to introduce the topic and stimulate thought. These pages are designed to make every child feel special. It teaches the children about the good things in the world, and at home.

Science One or more science experiments or activities will take place weekly that help the children discover the what, where, and why, of many interesting facts and ideas. These activities along with the science center in your child’s classroom will help them learn to investigate and to evaluate the world on their own.

Music We will participate in a music class twice a week with a professional music teacher. Every day in our classroom we will sing, dance, and move to music. All classrooms will have a music center that will enchant, delight, and bring out a young child’s natural curiosity.

Art We will participate in an art class with a professional art teacher. Arts and crafts will be offered several times a week in the classroom. An art center is available daily to allow the children’s imagination and creativity to thrive. Children will be encouraged to experiment and discover through a wide range of interesting materials.

Computer Lab We will attend the elementary computer lab at least once a week. This is a high-tech learning lab with enough computers for every child and a computer specialist in the lab with us. Our school uses the compass online learning system. The children are allowed to proceed at their own pace once they have achieved 80% accuracy on an activity. These activities are fun and exciting for the children. There is at least one computer in every classroom for the children to use during center time.

Weekly Reader Once a week a Weekly Reader preschool magazine will be given to the children. They will experience a social studies lesson at the early childhood level that will help them learn and discover more about themselves, their immediate community, and the world. This will help the children learn to be valuable and contributing citizens.

Library We attend the elementary library with a certified librarian at least once a week. During this time the children will be allowed to check out books with the parent’s approval. Each classroom has a reading center to encourage early awareness of literature.

Gross Motor Games Movement and physical activity are vital for a child’s development. Much growth is accomplished naturally through games and through a child’s delight in exploring how their body can move. They will learn concepts such as, fast and slow, high and low, and near and far, just to name a few. They will also learn a multitude of social skills through games and gross motor activities. Cooperative game playing is one of the best teaching tools to help children develop social skills.

Language

Providing young children with a rich and stimulating language environmet is essential. Everything that we do in the classroom and everything we teach enhances a child's ability to learn and understand language. There is a literacy/library/learning to read center in every classroom.

Sign Language Basic alphabet sign language will be taught along with the letter of the week.

Math At the early childhood level math is so much more than “numbers” . It is observing likeness and differences, patterning, classifying, sorting, rote counting, identifying geometric shapes, graphing, measuring, comparing, and printing numerals, as well as processing numbers. All classrooms will provide many opportunities for discovering math. Math experiences throughout the day will help build a mathematical foundation that the children can build upon in the future.

Colors and Symbols Every child will be assigned a color and symbol. They can identify their color at the table and on the floor. They may choose to sit in any chair, as long as it is their assigned color. We will use four colors for our classroom, red, green, blue, and yellow. The symbol they are assigned is unique to the child. This will identify them as an individual.

Classroom Jobs Each classroom will have a variety of “jobs”. The children will choose these jobs every morning. Every child will not get a job every day. Examples of these jobs are: door holder, line leader, messenger, feed the classroom pet, flag holder, calendar and weather helper, etc. These jobs teach responsibility and respect.

DISCIPLINE Through positive discipline we correct children's actions without damaging their ever growing self-esteems. At the front of the room there is a homemade stoplight with clothespins attached. Each student has a clothespin with their name on it. If a student does not express appropriate behavior, he/she must move their light to the appropriate stoplight color. At the beginning of everyday all clothespins are on the green light. The green light is for good listeners who will receive awards. When a clothespin is moved to the yellow light that means that student received a warning, they will be redirected by the teacher, and encouraged to make good choices. When a clothespin moves to the red light that student will sit next to the teacher for one minute per age. The teacher will discuss the choices the student made, and encourage them to stop the inappropriate behavior and make good choices. If the behavior continues the student will be asked to move their clip off of the stop light and onto the blue note.The teacher will discuss the behavior with the child and send home a note on blue paper for the parent to sign.

A lifetime of learning can begin in an early childhood classroom! All learning takes place through experience. During the course of the day, the children participate in large and small group activities as well as enjoying time working with another child or alone. All of the classrooms are set up with learning areas called “centers”. Within each center materials are provided so that the child can manipulate, explore, create, experiment and discover. The children are free to move from center-to-center as their interest change. This system encourages choice making and responsibility while sharing classroom supplies.

Age Requirements:

To qualify for the three-year-old program, the child must have attained the age of three years by October 1 of the year of entry. To qualify for the four-year-old program, a child must have attained the age of four years by October 1 of the year of entry.

Rest Periods:

A rest period is required by law for all children attending ECC more than four hours.

Toilet Training:

Each child enrolled in ECC must be toilet trained and capable of taking care of him/herself hygienically.

Tuition:

You will be billed weekly in advance unless other arrangements are made. Please see tuition schedule on registration form for exact amounts. Audubon tuition assistance is accepted for families who qualify. Please notify Brenda Spees in advance of enrollment for specific guidelines.

Lunches:

Children staying past 11:00 may purchase hot lunches from the school cafeteria or bring a sack lunch from home. They may also bring their lunch and purchase milk or juice. Free and reduced lunches are available to those children whose family income is below federal guidelines.

Each teacher can be reached at the following email address:

Brenda Spees bspees@smss.org

Pam Whelan pwhelan@smss.org

Donna Roberts mroberts@smss.org

Rondia Cromika rcromika@smss.org

Stacey Swift sswift@smss.org