Guest Commentary
Contributed By Nancy Andrews,
Principal, Centre School
Atlantic News, Friday, April 25, 2008
[The following article is courtesy of Atlantic News]
[Atlantic News Photo by Margo Seyfarth]
Special to 21 Voices:
Welcome to Kindergarten at Centre School! On Thursday, April 3, 125 incoming Kindergarten students and their parents visited Centre School to meet the Kindergarten staff. The evening was exciting for everyone in attendance.
In the Fall of 2008 Centre School's Kindergarten program will expand from 2-1/2 hour sessions to a full day program for each Kindergarten class. Kindergarten students will ride the bus to and from school with their older siblings and neighbors and they will eat lunch in the cafeteria.
The Centre School staff and our families are looking forward to this expanded Kindergarten program which will provide more time for enrichment, extension of the core curriculum, and opportunities for integration of curriculum to take place.
At Kindergarten Information Night, incoming Kindergarten students and their parents visited classrooms and met four of the six Kindergarten teachers. Families learned that in Kindergarten children play and learn with children their own age. They experience creativity through music, art, literature, movement and play. They share stories and experience print through books, charts and signs.
The Kindergarten day offers opportunities to practice solving conflicts and problems with words and appropriate voices. Kindergarten students develop responsibility, independence, and self-confidence through jobs like dressing, picking-up, and chores in the classroom and at home.
They will all experience math through counting, sorting, comparing, measuring, problem solving, and weighing. Kindergarten students follow consistent schedules and routines throughout the Kindergarten year.
The full day Kindergarten will enable the staff to provide a balanced curriculum with instruction and activities in Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Mathematics, Art, Music, Physical Education, Technology, and Library skills. We will continue to use teaching practices that are challenging yet developmentally appropriate for Kindergarten-age children.
Each child's enthusiasm for learning will be supported and encouraged throughout the day from the 8:20 a.m. entrance until the 2:50 p.m. dismissal daily. Parents are always welcome to be active participants in their child's learning at Centre School.
The Kindergarten "Welcome Brochure" provided to parents at Kindergarten registration outlines the following program expectations for parents, specifically noting that "Kindergarten is a time of many new experiences for your child. Here are some ways to get ready for Kindergarten: Read books about starting Kindergarten. Talk enthusiastically about starting Kindergarten with your child. Reassure your child that school is fun throughout the whole day. Talk about, establish, and practice new routines starting in early August."Kindergarten registration is scheduled to continue on Friday, May 9. Children who are residents of Hampton and who will be five years old by September 30 are eligible to join the Centre School Kindergarten. Parents may call the Centre School office at (603) 926-8706 to schedule a registration appointment for the 2008-09 Kindergarten, or to speak to the principal about Centre School programs.